After 20 years of planning and development, the Gordie Howe International Bridge is scheduled to open in early 2026, marking the first new connection between the US and Canada in many years.
The imposing bridge, with its elegant access curves, evokes the characteristic ambidexterity of Gordie Howe, who is considered one of the most versatile hockey players in history, capable of shooting with both his left and right hands.
Additionally, the bridge joins a select group of river crossing points that are open to cyclists and pedestrians.
“We did not want to miss the unique opportunity to design a new international crossing without considering the addition of a multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists,” said Heather Grondin, relationship director for the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
Connecting the cities of Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, GNN last reported on the bridge in 2024, when it was missing exactly the length of a regulation NHL ice hockey rink, a relevant detail.
It will feature the longest steel and composite concrete deck for any cable-stayed bridge in the world, Engineering News Record reported at the time, and will have 6 lanes of traffic, three in each direction, with overflow parking zones located at the ports of entry to relieve congestion across the bridge.
Congestion was a major consideration when designing the project, as the Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor Tunnel have seen routine delays for years.
“This bridge, along with adjacent infrastructure, will connect directly from Interstate 75 to Ontario’s highway system, known as Highway 401, without trucks or cars having to stop at traffic lights along the way,” Grondin told Bridge Detroit.
The bridge, costing approximately $4.4 billion, was financed by Canada, and as such, this neighbor to the north will receive the revenue from the tolls, while taking care of maintenance for the next 36 years.
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As bridge tourism becomes a reality in Michigan and the United States, the Gordie Howe Bridge will join the Peace and Rainbow Bridges in Niagara Falls, and the Thousand Islands Bridge in New York, which have pedestrian and bicycle routes along the span’s flanks.
And it’s not there simply to offer visitors a photo opportunity from the middle: each side connects to broader trail systems along the banks of the Detroit River, where waterfront development has included several lovely parks to wander.
The bridge will not only connect Detroit and Windsor, Interstate 75 and its Canadian equivalent, and the United States with Canada, but also two hockey-loving nations that shared the sporting abilities of a great man: one for the nation of his birth, and the other for the city in which he dominated for so long as a forward for the Red Wings.
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