The Gordie Howe International Bridge — which has become mired in political controversy connected to President Donald Trump — is now touting a feature that the Ambassador Bridge doesn’t have: a 12-foot-wide path for two-way pedestrian and cyclist traffic.
And there will be no charge to use it.
The new bridge path also will connect on both sides to other trails and paths.
It’s unclear how many people will try to traverse the 1½-mile bridge between Detroit and Windsor on foot or bike when the bridge finally opens, but it is something that Americans and Canadians have asked whether they can do over the years.
Until now, with limited exceptions, the answer has been that they cannot.
Interest in the new bridge authority announcement — intentionally or not — could also ratchet up the pressure to open the bridge after Trump had threatened last month to block it.
“It’s true!” the bridge authority posted on its Facebook page earlier this month, and a day after it announced its toll rates that are nearly half of those of the Ambassador Bridge, confirming the walking and bike path “will be toll-free on the #GordieHoweBridge.”
The post added: “Stay tuned for more info to come on the path policy. #GoHowe”
As for tolls, the one-way price for passenger vehicles on the Gordie Howe will be: $5.75 in U.S. dollars. With a 25% discount for electronic pass holders, that’s $4.35. For commercial trucks, the toll per axle is $8.75; discounted, it is $6.90.
Walkers and bikers using the crossing enter at a different place than the cars and will be required to present valid identification, such as a passport or an enhanced driver’s license, the nonprofit news outlet Bridge Michigan reported Tuesday, March 24.
And the publication noted that after opening, the new crossing will be “the only bridge connecting Michigan and Canada that accommodates pedestrians and cyclists and one of the few crossings between the US and Canada with dedicated lanes for walking and biking.”
When the bridge will open, however, is unclear.
The bridge authority has announced its target to open is spring.
Some bridge experts speculate the opening could be held up because it will likely cut into the Ambassador Bridge’s profits, and the Moroun family, which owns that crossing, is exerting its financial influence.
Before Trump’s threat, Matthew Moroun contributed $1 million to the Make America Great Again super PAC.
Moreover, political controversy is now an issue in the upcoming U.S. Senate race, with Democrats running a commercial online about the bridge that targets Republican Mike Rogers.
The new bridge opening also was a topic that came up last week when Vice President JD Vance visited Auburn Hills. Vance deflected a reporter’s question about whether the jointly owned bridge would open on schedule.
While he called Canada an “important trade partner,” he also seized the opportunity to take a jab at Canada, criticizing Canadian tariffs, how workers were treated and accusing America’s neighbor of “taking advantage” of the United States.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Bikers, walkers are getting a toll-free bridge crossing to Canada
Reporting by Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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