Someone just couldn't wait to illegally cross Ontario's new $6.4B U.S. border bridge

A Canadian man was arrested earlier this month after allegedly trying to illegally cross the new Gordie Howe International Bridge linking Canada and the United States.

The record-breaking bridge is looking all but complete and ready to welcome cross-border traffic between Ontario and Michigan. And while no opening date for the $6.4 billion investment has been announced amid threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to block the opening of the new crossing, it seems someone just couldn't wait to try out the continent's longest cable-stayed bridge for themselves.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that officers with the federal agency apprehended a 28-year-old Canadian man who was allegedly caught trying to cross the 2.5-kilometre-long bridge into Detroit on foot on March 6. 

The yet-to-open bridge spanning the Detroit River includes a multi-use path that, once complete, will allow pedestrians and cyclists to use the crossing. 

However, with no opening date publicly announced and threats from the U.S. Trump administration to block the bridge's opening over an apparent lack of understanding of the project's funding model, crossing of the Gordie Howe International Bridge is still limited to construction operations, and does not yet permit motorists, cyclists, or pedestrians like the alleged perpetrator.

The accused was not named in a statement from CPD, though the federal agency alleged in a statement to local Detroit media that the attempted border crosser has a history of criminal convictions for sexual assault and theft.

And it seems the accused's unsanctioned trip to the U.S. will have lasting travel repercussions, with the individual returned to Canada after being apprehended, and now reportedly banned from entering the U.S.