By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) – A new $4.7 billion bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, which President Donald Trump threatened to block, is set to open on July 27 after the U.S. and Canada struck a deal on toll revenue, the Canadian government said late on Friday.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge had been set to open in June. In February, Trump cited financial concerns and threatened to block the bridge named after the legendary Detroit Red Wings hockey player.
Canada said it struck a deal with the U.S. government on “a series of cooperative measures focused on toll governance and transparency, as well as investments in the region, including through the establishment of a 15-year economic development fund tied to a portion of profits from bridge operations.”
Michigan Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers said earlier on WJR radio that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told him the administration reached a deal that will be announced in the coming days to allow the bridge to open soon.
Rogers said the U.S. “went from getting no revenue” to getting significant revenue. “We’re going to get the bridge open and we’re going to get a much better deal,” Rogers said.
A source confirmed a deal had been reached and that the U.S. would get 50% of toll revenue and be able to veto any toll hike that is 10% more than the current tolls. Lutnick struck a deal after talks in recent weeks with Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister in charge of U.S. trade, the source said.
The bridge has become an issue in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race as Trump’s Republicans campaign to hold their majority in that branch of Congress.
A formal ribbon-cutting had been planned for mid-June.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said last month Canada agreed to delay the opening at the request of the Trump administration.
In February, Trump cited Canada’s refusal to stock some U.S. alcoholic beverages on Canadian store shelves, Canada’s tariffs on dairy products and its trade talks with China as grounds for why he might not allow the bridge to open.
Matthew Moroun, owner of the rival Ambassador Bridge that connects Detroit and Windsor, in February met with Lutnick after weeks earlier donating $1 million to a Trump-aligned political action committee. The Ambassador Bridge company, which did not respond to a request for comment, actively campaigned for years to block the new bridge.
Construction of the Gordie Howe bridge, which began in 2018, was financed by Canada because the U.S. declined to pay for it. The costs were to be covered by tolls over 30 years and it was not immediately clear how the split in revenue would affect the repayment schedule.
The new bridge will help ease truck traffic on the Ambassador Bridge into Detroit, the U.S.-Canada border’s largest freight port, which handled $126 billion in trade carried by commercial trucks in 2023.
The bridge will cut 20 minutes off the crossing time, saving truckers $2.3 billion over 30 years, according to a University of Windsor study.
Trump has made a number of threats against Canada in his second term and sharply hiked tariffs on the U.S.’ northern neighbor. Last month, Trump said he might not renew a free trade deal with Mexico and Canada.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Maria Cheng; Editing by Alistair Bell, David Gregorio and Tom Hogue)
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