Bike, pedestrian path to be toll-free on Gordie Howe International Bridge

Pedestrians and cyclists will be able to cross for free on the multi-use path of the Gordie Howe International Bridge
The path is about 1.5 miles long, 12 feet wide and will allow traffic going in both directions
The bridge will be the only Michigan crossing allowing foot and bike traffic to Canada

People walking or biking across the soon-to-open Gordie Howe International Bridge will be able to cross the border at no cost, according to the authority overseeing the new span between Detroit and Canada.

Pedestrians and cyclists using the multi-use path will access the bridge via a separate entry point from cars. But like motor vehicle drivers who will pay tolls, they will be required to present valid identification, such as a passport or an enhanced driver’s license.

In addition to announcing that the multi-use path will be toll-free, operators recently disclosed other new details: It’ll be a single lane that accommodates both two-way pedestrian and cyclist traffic. The path will be about 1.5 miles long and nearly 12 feet wide.

The path will connect to trails in Windsor, including the Trans Canada Trail, and to other paths on the Michigan side, including on West Jefferson Ave., Campbell Street and Fort Street in Detroit.

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Construction on the Gordie Howe International Bridge began in 2018, and the span is now in its final phase of testing. An opening date has not been confirmed but officials say the span is expected to open in the spring despite President Donald Trump’s threat to block it amid a trade dispute with Canada.

After completion, it will be the only bridge connecting Michigan and Canada that accommodates pedestrians and cyclists and one of the few crossings between the US and Canada with dedicated lanes for walking and biking.

Only the Peace Bridge, Rainbow Bridge, and Thousand Islands Bridge allow foot traffic.

The international bridge will have six lanes, with three in each direction for vehicles. The additional crossing is intended to reduce congestion at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and the Ambassador Bridge, which currently carries traffic on four lanes.

“People didn’t want us to lose a unique opportunity to design a new international crossing without considering the incorporation of a multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists,” Heather Grondin, chief relations officer for the Gordie Howe International Bridge, told Bridge Michigan in January.

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Vehicle tolls

The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority announced in March a flat toll rate of $5.75 for small and medium passenger vehicles and motorcycles crossing the Gordie Howe Bridge. Larger commercial or hazardous trucks will pay $8.75 per axle, with possible additional fees.

Motorists who enroll in an automatic payment tag will receive discounted rates. The “breakaway” electronic payment program will offer a 25% discount for businesses, commuters and occasional travelers. Drivers who add a prepaid tag can pass through any open lane with tolls automatically deducted.

Under the program, passenger vehicles could pay $4.35, with larger vehicles starting around $6.90, while business accounts are already available and personal accounts are expected soon.

The new prices are lower than other ways to cross the Detroit River. The Ambassador Bridge increased tolls at the start of the year to $10 for cars, buses or motorcycles and $15 to $20 per axle for commercial vehicles, while the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel charges $9 for passenger vehicles and up to $44 for commercial trucks, depending on axles.

The roughly $4.4 billion project was funded by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, the governing body that oversees the business affairs of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, and financed in Canadian dollars, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

Since the Canadian government paid for the bridge, it will recoup the toll revenue and receive ongoing capital and availability payments to operate, maintain and rehabilitate the project for the next 36 years. It will be jointly owned with the State of Michigan.

Marathon won’t move

Even with a new bridge rising over the river, Detroit’s oldest international marathon plans to stay its course.

Participants in the Detroit Free Press International Marathon cross the Ambassador Bridge to Canada and return through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.

Despite the Gordie Howe Bridge being wider and a bit shorter, Aaron Velthoven, the race’s executive producer, previously told Bridge Michigan that there are no plans to change the course of the race in the near future.

“The (Gordie Howe) Bridge is much further away from where we traditionally start and finish,” he said. “To even entertain something like that, we would have to dramatically change where we start and finish.”

Both bridges are roughly 150 feet above the Detroit River at its highest point.

“The Ambassador Bridge is … a steep incline but the nice thing is, from our race perspective, the bridge is early in the course,” Velthoven said.