Gordie Howe bridge opening date pushed back, project cost up by $700 million

The Gordie Howe International Bridge is now slated to open in September 2025, a delay of 10 months from its original targeted completion date in 2024.

The new targeted opening date means the international border crossing will now cost $6.4 billion Cdn, up from the original $5.7-billion cost estimate.

The new international border crossing was scheduled to be completed in November but "experienced unprecedented disruptions as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic," the bridge authority said in a press release issued Thursday morning.

"The disruptions were even more prevalent for the Gordie Howe International Bridge project given the differing applicable restrictions in the U.S. and Canada, combined with the ramping up of construction activities in early 2020," the statement reads.

The bridge authority says the contract between the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) and Bridging North America (BNA) has been updated to reflect the new completion date and "the contract between Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority and Bridging North America provides for the schedule and cost impacts of certain risks to be shared."

The first vehicles are expected to cross the bridge in fall 2025. Last year was "the busiest construction year to date" on the project, the bridge authority says.

The delay comes with a one-year extension to the bridge's community benefits plan worth $3 million Cdn that will be split between Canada and the United States over the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The news was initially shared by Windsor West MP Brian Masse on Facebook late Wednesday night.

"It is official, the Gordie Howe International Bridge will be delayed for opening; We got another win though, I had argued that if a delay was to happen we would get more Community Benefits, and we have won!," Masse wrote.

"I will be doing my due diligence with the announcement … and I warned about this more than a decade ago," he said. "To be fair, there is an outstanding record of safety building the bridge and that remains a cornerstone of bringing this to fruition."

More to come.