WASHINGTON—A new $4.7 billion bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is set to open on July 27 after the United States and Canada struck a deal on toll revenue, the Canadian government said late on Friday.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge had been set to open in June. In February, Trump cited financial concerns and threatened to block the bridge named after the legendary Detroit Red Wings hockey player.
Canada said it struck a deal with the U.S. government on "a series of cooperative measures focused on toll governance and transparency, as well as investments in the region, including through the establishment of a 15-year economic development fund tied to a portion of profits from bridge operations."
Trump said on Saturday he had secured a "much better deal" for the United States, allowing the opening of the bridge to proceed.
"The original deal made was unacceptable to me," Trump said in a Truth Social post. "The new deal is great, and fair."
Michigan Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers said earlier on WJR radio that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told him the administration reached a deal that will be announced in the coming days to allow the bridge to open soon.
Rogers said the United States "went from getting no revenue" to getting significant revenue. "We're going to get the bridge open and we're going to get a much better deal," Rogers said.
The bridge has become an issue in Michigan's U.S. Senate race as Trump's Republicans campaign to hold their majority in that branch of Congress.
A formal ribbon-cutting had been planned for mid-June.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said last month Canada agreed to delay the opening at the request of the Trump administration.
In February, Trump cited Canada's refusal to stock some U.S. alcoholic beverages on Canadian store shelves, Canada's tariffs on dairy products and its trade talks with China as grounds for why he might not allow the bridge to open.
Construction of the Gordie Howe bridge, which began in 2018, was financed by Canada because the United States declined to pay for it. The costs were to be covered by tolls over 30 years and it was not immediately clear how the split in revenue would affect the repayment schedule.
The new bridge will help ease truck traffic on the Ambassador Bridge into Detroit, the U.S.–Canada border's largest freight port, which handled $126 billion in trade carried by commercial trucks in 2023.
The bridge will cut 20 minutes off the crossing time, saving truckers $2.3 billion over 30 years, according to a University of Windsor study.