Gordie Howe International Bridge to open this Spring

This spring will mark the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario’s Highway 401 to Detroit, Michigan’s I-75. The bridge will be one of the largest land ports of entry between Canada and the United States. The Gordie Howe bridge will offer many bonuses for commercial drivers crossing the border.

This new bridge boasts

  • 16 toll lanes with both automatic and manual toll collections,
  • 24 primary inspection lanes in Canada; 16 secondary inspection bays
  • 36 primary inspection lanes in the U.S.; 28 secondary inspection bays
  • Separated commercial and passenger lanes
  • Cold storage space, animal pens, warehouse parking spaces, warehouse bays for trailers and advanced large-scale imaging
  • Accommodations for oversized vehicles and hazardous materials

There will always be at least one manned toll lane on either side of the bridge as well as 24/7 on-site traffic operations management center.

Toll Breakdown for Commercial Vehicles

So, what’s the toll prices for commercial vehicles going to be? Here’s a breakdown for you:

Large Commercial Vehicles (over 2.3m/7.5ft height). This includes commercial trucks, buses, RVS, vehicles towing fifth wheel trailers, and passenger vehicle. These will be charged per axle.

Standard $12 CAD / $8.75 USD per axle

Breakaway Rate: $9.60 CAD/ $6.90 USD

Hazardous and Oversize Vehicles are charged at the same rate per axle and may have additional fees based on handling and safety considerations.

And just in case you’re taking a personal trip across the bridge the tolls are as follows:

Passenger vehicles are $8 CAD/ $5.75 USD plus additional $8 CAD/ $5.75 USD per trailer. Breakaway rates are $6 CAD/ $4.35 USD plus additional $6 CAD/ $4.35 per trailer.  The max height for personal vehicles and trailers is 2.3m/7.5 ft.

Breakaway Account options

Registering for a Breakaway account has some definite bonuses. First being the account offers 20% off toll rates per axle for commercial vehicles. This way noting beyond a quick pause (their words!) at the toll lane is all that is required so your truck gets back to traveling faster.  As well there will be dedicated lanes to those with a Breakaway account and tags on their vehicles. Nexus cards can also be linked to your Breakaway account.

Personal Prepaid: Get up to four Breakaway tags on one account and save 25% on passenger vehicle toll rates.

Business Prepaid: unlimited Breakaway tags linked through one account. Preset limit and requires no credit report or contract.

Business Postpaid: Invoiced monthly for large fleets doing more than 1000 trips per month. Requires a credit report and contract.

The automated (and manned lanes) are offering access to all type of electronic payment- whether its Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay, as well as all major credit cards: AMEX, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa.

Other bonuses of the Gordie Howe International Bridge:

This new bridge is being touted as the new state of the art way to cross and offers other benefits to a faster, easier crossing:

  • The Gordie Howe International Bridge also accepts Nexus cards and the FAST (Free and Secure Trade) program.
  • There will be real time reporting on travel and border wait times
  • If paying cash both the U.S. or Canadian funds will be accepted. If paying with electronic funds it will be converted to Canadian dollars and the rate will be subject to exchange rates at the time of crossing.
  • Dedicated and separated multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists

An official opening date has yet to be released, but when it does this is sure to be a great option for commercial drivers making frequent trips between Windsor and Detroit. The Gordie Howe bridge will be appealing avenue for both commercial and personal use other than just the current Ambassador Bridge, and  is (so-far) more economical with its cheaper toll rates.