Ontario just got an enormous new U.S. border crossing that nobody can use yet

The largest U.S. border crossing in Canada is gearing up to open in Ontario, though, despite construction now passing the finish line, nobody has any clue when they will be able to finally use it.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge now stands proud over the Detroit River, soon to provide a direct link between Ontario's Highway 401 and Michigan's I-75 and close a longstanding missing link in the busy international shipping corridor.

New photos and video captured in October show that the bridge and points of entry on either side of the border are all but complete. 

Work on the 2.5-kilometre-long bridge commenced seven years ago with an anticipated Nov. 2024 completion and Dec. 2024 opening. This target was later adjusted to a vague Fall 2025 completion and a complete blackout on any potential opening dates.

An opening date for the new $6.4 billion crossing has not been announced as of mid-October.

Though construction appears all but complete, a damning report released earlier in 2025 suggests that motorists hoping to use this new international crossing could be left waiting.

The report from late April, which was widely reported on this past July, alleged that timelines could be extended by as much as six months if the bridge's customs facilities were not handed over to the Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection by May 2025. That handover did not occur until Sept. 2025.

In an Oct. 10 email statement to blogTO, Manny Paiva, Senior Advisor of Communications at the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, stated that "The project team is progressing well toward construction completion this year," but added that "It is too early to offer a specific opening date."

Upon opening, the Canadian Port of Entry (POE) will become the single-largest crossing along the almost 9,000-kilometre-long border separating Canada and the United States.

Meanwhile, the colossal bridge, officially ranked the continent's longest cable-stayed bridge span as of 2024, sits awaiting the flow of cross-border traffic, with no firm date in sight.

Once operational, the six-lane bridge will pass 16 toll booths and empty into 60 inspection lanes serving the POE.