Gordie Howe Bridge opens to traffic in Detroit

Canada-built span offers alternative to Ambassador Bridge

DETROIT — The Gordie Howe International Bridge, a new six-lane span connecting Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, opened to all vehicles Monday, the culmination of a years-long project that the Associated Press reported had been affected by trade disputes between the United States and Canada.

Among the first to cross the Detroit River were descendants of Gordie Howe, the hockey legend for whom the bridge is named, the AP reported. U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, rode a motorcycle across the span, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer drove a Ford Mustang convertible during the opening, according to the AP.

Canada built the publicly owned crossing, the AP reported. The six-lane span becomes a lower-cost alternative to the Ambassador Bridge, a privately owned crossing that had held a monopoly on large trucks carrying goods valued in the billions between the two countries, especially serving the automotive industry, the AP reported.