DETROIT, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The new Gordie Howe International Bridge will not have a dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony today or be open to traffic on Monday.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer says she is hoping the span connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario will be open soon despite the delay.
The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority did not give a specific reason for delaying the opening of the bridge.
The Detroit Free Press reports a source says the delay was to make sure people in the Trump administration in the Commerce and State departments were aware of the opening and involved in the process.
Whitmer has been talking directly with the White House since February about the bridge, following President Trump’s threats that it wouldn’t open without Canadian concessions.
Those were despite the fact that Canada paid for the construction with Michigan to repay Ottawa through tolls and the deal being approved by former President Obama 14-years ago.
Also commenting on the status of the Gordie Howe International Bridge is Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall of Richland.
He says that since the bridge took years longer to complete and cost billions of dollars more than expected, Michigan many never own any part of the bridge.
That means the terms have changed, and Hall argues Michigan will see less benefits than originally promised.
The Detroit News is reporting the ribbon cutting ceremony was delayed by two top advisers to President Trump.
That is according to three sources who are familiar with the behind-the-scenes talks.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra tells The Detroit News that neither he nor Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who had both been appointed by Trump to lead discussions with Canada about opening the bridge, knew about today’s planned activities until Monday morning.
Two sources tell the newspaper Canadian officials feared a backlash from those two if they didn’t delay the ceremony and public opening.
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