The Gordie Howe Bridge is now scheduled to open in September 2025, a delay of 10 months from the original targeted completion date in 2024.

The new targeted opening date means that the international border crossing will now cost $6.4 billion, up from original cost estimates of $5.7 billion.

In a press release issued this Thursday morning, the Bridge Authority said the new international border crossing was supposed to be completed in November, but it "faced unprecedented disruptions due to the global COVID-19 pandemic."

The statement said: "The disruptions were more widespread for the Gordie Howe International Bridge project due to the different restrictions applied in the US and Canada, along with intensified construction activities in early 2020."

The Bridge Authority added that the contract between the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority and Bridging North America has been updated to reflect the new completion date and "the contract between the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) and Bridging North America (BNA) stipulates the timeline and cost impacts of some risks to be shared."

The first vehicles are expected to cross the bridge in the fall of 2025, and the Bridge Authority notes that the past year has been "the busiest construction year yet" in the project.

The delay comes with a one-year extension of the $3 million community benefits plan for the bridge, which will be split between Canada and the United States during the 2025-2026 fiscal year.