After eight years of construction, more than a quarter century of planning and months of international political problems, the Gordie Howe International Bridge is finally scheduled to open next Monday, July 27th.
For commercial truckers and nonprofits in southwest Detroit, this bridge is a game-changer.
“Since it has started so far, we just won’t believe it until it is officially opened and we are the ones driving over this bridge,” said Mohamed Saaidi, the vice president of McLaren Transport, on Thursday (July 23).
The company, located in the shadow of the new office in southwest Detroit, opened in 2019 and primarily transports auto parts for the big three automakers.
His trucks experienced numerous problems crossing the 96-year-old Ambassador Bridge, the only land border crossing in Detroit.
“Given the traffic jams at customs, this is one of the biggest problems,” said Saaidi. “With [the Ambassador Bridge] Since there are two lanes, that’s another big issue we’re dealing with.
“With the introduction of this new bridge, it is more modern and they have more scanner technology, so we will be in and out,” he added. “It goes directly from (Interstate) 75 to (Highway) 401. So that saves us about 15 to 30 minutes on each trip, which is a game changer for us.”
The new bridge will also help reduce traffic congestion and divert heavy commercial traffic away from residential neighborhoods in southwest Detroit and Windsor.
The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority announced in March that tolls to cross the Howe Bridge for commercial vehicles will be less than half those for the Ambassador Bridge and more than a dollar cheaper for passenger vehicles.
Commercial vehicles that enroll in Howe Bridge’s Breakaway toll discount program will pay fees of $6.90 per axle.
That’s $34.50 for a typical five-axle semi-truck compared to $75 for the Ambassador Bridge.
Full price is $43.75, as opposed to $100 for the Ambassador Bridge.
“With the savings we have, we can get more new trucks and more new trailers,” Saaidi said. “We can hire a lot more people.”
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Sourced in Canada
In the McLaren terminal there is a huge refrigerator with thousands of vegetables from Metro Food Rescue.
It was launched in April 2025 in southwest Detroit
Their job is to pass on food that would otherwise be thrown away to families in need.
“If you go into a store in the middle of winter, especially here in Michigan, the products you see are probably from Canada,” said Chad Techner, founder of Metro Food Rescue. “We source food from all over the world, from Canada to Mexico and wherever it is available.
“We waste 40 percent of the food in this country, while one in five children do not have enough to eat,” he added. “As a father of four young children, it’s just overwhelming for me to have both things happening at the same time.”
On Thursday, Techner and a group of workers loaded box trucks with fruits, vegetables and bread to deliver to food pantries in southwest Detroit.
The produce they receive comes largely from a farm in Leamington, Ontario.
“The greenhouses in Canada are less than an hour from here,” said Techner. “So a lot of the produce we receive year-round comes from Canada.
“Right now, in the middle of summer, we are seeing more and more products coming online from Michigan and Ohio,” he added. “But with the heated greenhouses [in Canada]They can produce year-round as if it were a tropical environment.”
Because of the tolls and long wait times at the Ambassador Bridge, farms had to transport a lot of food across the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia and through Port Huron, adding additional time and fuel costs.
The Howe Bridge will facilitate the procurement of food from Canada to fulfill its mission of helping families in need.
“Everyone knows this problem exists,” Techner said of food insecurity. “It’s the stupidest problem in the world. We’re wasting all this food, and there are people who need it.”
“We partnered with Sharing Excess last April on a project down here at the food terminal, and next week we will actually be delivering more than 9 million pounds, or 45 million servings, of fresh fruits and vegetables to the community,” Techner said. “We just need your help to close this gap.”
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2026/07/23/new-gordie-howe-bridge-expected-to-save-truck-drivers-time-money-at-detroit-border/
