The Gordie Howe International Bridge got off to a strong start on opening day, with thousands of drivers making the trip between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, Mich., within hours of the bridge opening.
Speaking on AM800’s Mornings with Mike and Meg, Heather Grondin, chief relations Officer for the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, said approximately 7,500 vehicles crossed the bridge during its first 12 hours of operation.
Officials had expected plenty of interest from the public but said it was difficult to predict exactly how many motorists would use the new crossing on its first day.
The bridge also welcomed traffic earlier than originally planned. While the official opening was scheduled for noon, crews were able to complete final traffic management work ahead of schedule.
“The traffic management work that needed to take place to remove the barriers to get everything set within the land on the bridge itself went very smoothly,” said Grondin. “So we were actually able to start having vehicles to cross right around 10 a.m., 10:30, which was great.”
Grondin said the first day went smoothly overall, despite drivers adjusting to new traffic patterns.
“There’s lots of new signage, lots of new routes that people need to take,” she said. “So pre-planning and everyone getting acquainted with the new way of driving through the bridge is going to take a little bit of time.”
She added that officials anticipated passenger vehicles would make up the majority of opening-day traffic, while commercial carriers work through the documentation required to use the new crossing.
“Understanding from a commercial perspective, there’s paperwork they need to do before they can cross the bridge,” Grondin said. “So we understood that there might not be a lot of commercial traffic, but we also understood that there’s going to be a lot of interest from personal vehicles for people who really wanted to experience the first day.”
The $6.4 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge took eight years to build. The new international crossing provides a direct highway-to-highway connection between Highway 401 in Ontario and Interstate 75 in Michigan. The 2.5-kilometre bridge features six traffic lanes, 16 toll lanes, and 60 inspection lanes.
