DETROIT (AP) — Traffic is set to start flowing Monday across a new bridge over the Detroit River that will serve as a critical route for trade, jobs and tourism between Canada and the U.S.
Last week, Canada celebrated the Gordie Howe International Bridge with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Windsor, Ontario, to mark the completion of the multibillion-dollar, multiyear project.
U.S. and Michigan representatives were uninvited from Friday’s gathering after President Donald Trump suddenly announced 50% tariffs on Canadian goods entering America.
The bridge is named for Howe, a Canadian icon known as “Mr. Hockey” who wore No. 9 while playing on the other side of the Detroit River for the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. He died in 2016.
More than 70% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S., making America its largest trade partner, and Detroit is the No. 1 port for truck traffic on the U.S.-Canada border, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
For nearly a century, the privately-owned Ambassador Bridge has been the only route for large commercial trucks moving between the U.S. and Canada at Detroit. Businesses say the new six-lane span will be faster and less expensive.
The span is 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) long and rises 151 feet (46 meters) above the river at its highest point. Pedestrians and bicyclists carrying proper identification will be able to cross it for free in a few weeks.
Construction on the new bridge began in 2018 but took years, partly because of a global slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canada paid to build the bridge at an estimated cost of $6.4 billion. A recent agreement says Canada will share some toll revenue with the U.S. government for 15 years.
Trump praised his administration for that deal in a social media post while the Ontario event was in progress. “We changed the terms,” he said.
Michigan will also get a share, but not until Canada’s costs are recovered, likely decades from now.