Gordie Howe Bridge Opens in 2026 With First Bike and Pedestrian Access in Decades

The Gordie Howe International Bridge will open in early 2026. This marks the first time in decades that residents can walk or bike between Michigan and Canada. Construction stands at 98% complete as of November 13, 2025.

The new span will be the only bridge from Michigan to Canada that allows foot and bike traffic. It joins just a handful of other US-Canadian crossings with pedestrian lanes, including the Peace Bridge, Rainbow Bridge, and Thousand Islands Bridge.

"People didn't want us to lose a unique opportunity to design a new international crossing without considering the incorporation of a multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists," said Heather Grondin, chief relations officer for the project, as shared by Bridge Detroit.

The six-lane bridge will connect I-75 straight to Ontario's Highway 401 and won't require traffic lights. Construction started in 2018, though officials have not announced an exact opening date.

The crossing is designed to ease congestion at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and the Ambassador Bridge, which has four traffic lanes. Cars will be kept within the port of entry during backups to avoid traffic congestion on I-75. Trucks will have to turn their engines off during inspection to cut down on noise and air pollution.

Creating another port of entry has been in the works for over 20 years. Several studies conducted in the early 2000s examined cross-border travel patterns due to concerns that the existing infrastructure would not support the anticipated increase in traffic, according to Bridge Detroit.

Then-Governor Rick Snyder and Canada's prime minister announced an agreement on the publicly owned Windsor-Detroit crossing in 2012. The roughly $4.4 billion project was funded by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority and financed in Canadian dollars, according to Bridge Detroit.

Since the Canadian government paid for the structure, it will recoup toll revenue. It will also receive ongoing capital and availability payments to operate, maintain, and rehabilitate the project for the next 36 years.