Windsor’s mayor is excited to see there’s a projected timeframe for opening the Gordie Howe International Bridge. On Wednesday, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority announced toll rates for using the new bridge and noted the crossing linking Ontario’s Highway 401 and Michigan’s I-75 would open this spring. On March 4, Mayor Drew Dilkens called on the Ontario government to provide an exemption under section 40 of the Municipal Act to collect tolls on Windsor’s Huron Church Road until the new Gordie Howe International Bridge is open. The call came after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to block the opening of the new crossing between Windsor and Detroit in a post on February 9 on Truth Social. The New York Times reported on Feb.10 that Trump’s threat came hours after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met with Matthew Moroun, the billionaire owner of the Ambassador Bridge, which has been pushing back against the new crossing for decades. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens says the note that the bridge would open this spring probably means he won’t have to advance the topic of truck tolls on Huron Church Road with Premier Ford. He says toll rates also look sensible when compared to the $14 being charged by the Ambassador Bridge. “Having it at $8 is certainly sensible in this community. Of course, as owners of the tunnel, we reflect that our Nexpress rate, our frequent-cross rate, is actually lower than what’s proposed at the Gordie Howe Bridge. So, the tunnel, as we own it, is still going to be the cheapest way if you’re a frequent traveller to cross into the United States,” he says. Drivers of passenger vehicles will pay a standard toll of $8 CAD/$5.75 USD per crossing at the Gordie Howe Bridge. Commercial trucks, oversized vehicles, and larger passenger vehicles will pay a standard toll of $12 CAD/$8.75 USD per axle. Passenger vehicles using the Ambassador Bridge pay $14 CAD. Dilkens says the Ambassador Bridge has control over its own toll rates and would expect some kind of response as we move closer to the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge. “Recognizing that whether you run a tunnel that’s buried under the water or a bridge that’s exposed to the elements 24/7, 365 days a year, they come with heavy operating and maintenance costs. So there’s only so low that someone can go before they start losing money, and then it doesn’t make business sense. But I do expect something will happen again on this file; until the Gordie Howe Bridge is open, nothing would surprise me,” he says. The toll rate for Canada-bound travellers using the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel is $9 USD, while U.S.-bound travellers pay $8.25 CAD. The tunnel also offers a discount program called ‘Nexpress,’ where users pay $5.90 CAD from Windsor to Detroit. The $6.5-billion Gordie Howe International Bridge will have six lanes of traffic, 16 toll lanes, and 60 Canada and U.S. inspection lanes to process both commercial and passenger vehicles.
