The Gordie Howe International Bridge opened to traffic on Monday, July 27, 2026, linking Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan across the Detroit River. The first vehicles made the crossing that afternoon, with travellers welcomed as early as noon, according to the bridge project's official website (Gordie Howe International Bridge).

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was behind the wheel for the inaugural drive across the bridge, the State of Michigan confirmed in a press release issued the same day (State of Michigan). The Windsor Star reported the first cars crossing on opening day (Windsor Star).

The bridge cost C$6.4 billion to build. It is home to the largest land ports of entry — the customs and inspection facilities where border officials process people and goods — between Canada and the United States, according to Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (Government of Canada). The Canada Border Services Agency published its own release on July 24, 2026, confirming the port of entry was ready for operations (Canada Border Services Agency).

Construction was effectively complete as of March 2026, with opening expected once all safety tests were finished, according to a federal government report (Government of Canada). The official opening date was announced in a press release dated July 10, 2026, issued from Windsor (Gordie Howe International Bridge).

The bridge is named for Gordie Howe, the Canadian hockey legend who spent the bulk of his playing career with the Detroit Red Wings. Howe, who died in 2016, was known as "Mr. Hockey" and is widely regarded as one of the sport's greatest players. The naming was chosen to reflect the shared hockey culture between the two cities the bridge connects.

For anyone who has sat in the long queues at the Ambassador Bridge — the 1929 crossing that has long carried the bulk of Detroit–Windsor border traffic — a second route is the practical payoff. The Gordie Howe bridge adds six lanes of capacity and dedicated commercial lanes, easing one of North America's busiest trade corridors.

The project took roughly a decade from planning to completion. Delays and cost increases marked the build, but the final structure stands as a second fixed link between the two cities, reshaping how people and freight move between Canada and the United States at one of their most important crossings.