For everyone who lives and works in the Windsor-Detroit corridor, July 27, 2026 was a day a long time coming. At noon Eastern, the Gordie Howe International Bridge opened to vehicle traffic — the first new road crossing between Ontario and Michigan in more than 60 years (ClickOnDetroit). For a company like ours, headquartered right here in the region and built around cross-border freight, this is more than an infrastructure story. It is our backyard.
And there is a detail about opening day that we could not be prouder of. The first commercial carrier to move live freight across the new bridge was Onfreight Logistics — a Tecumseh, Ontario trucking company, a local Windsor-area operation, and a BorderPrint customer. When we heard it was going to be them, we were thrilled. You could not script a better representative for this corridor.
1) A crossing 60 years in the making
The Gordie Howe International Bridge did not open on a whim. Construction began in 2018, and the project spent years working through the kind of hurdles that come with a binational megaproject (Detroit Free Press). Even after the structure itself was finished in early June, the completed six-lane crossing sat closed for roughly seven weeks while Canada and the United States settled questions around toll governance, before Canada and Michigan jointly confirmed the July 27 opening date on July 10 (Autonocion).
Opening day itself carried real symbolism. Members of the Howe family — the bridge is named for hockey legend Gordie Howe — made the first passenger-vehicle crossing before the bridge opened to the public around midday (CTV News). On the Michigan side, Governor Gretchen Whitmer marked the occasion by driving across in a Michigan-built vehicle, calling it a historic new connection between the two countries (State of Michigan).
2) The Gordie Howe Bridge by the numbers
The engineering behind this crossing is genuinely record-setting. A few of the figures worth knowing:
- Six lanes — three in each direction — across roughly 1.5 miles (about 2.5 km) over the Detroit River (Detroit Free Press).
- The longest cable-stayed span in North America, with a main span of roughly 2,800 feet and no piers touching the water, held up by two concrete towers about 722 feet tall (Autonocion).
- A price tag of about $4.7 billion USD (roughly $6.4 billion CAD), funded almost entirely by Canada, which co-owns the crossing with Michigan (ClickOnDetroit).
- Tolls set by the bridge authority at roughly $8 CAD for a passenger vehicle and about $12 CAD per axle for commercial trucks and larger vehicles (CBC News).
- A toll-free multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists scheduled to open August 5 (CTV News).
3) Onfreight Logistics: first freight across, and a local one
Of all the trucks that will cross the Gordie Howe Bridge in its first year, one will always be first. That distinction went to Onfreight Logistics, the Tecumseh, Ontario-based carrier that moved the first live commercial freight across the new span when it opened to commercial traffic (Truck News).
According to the company, the milestone reflects more than two decades of advocacy by president Steve Ondejko Sr., a former Ontario Trucking Association chairman who long championed the bridge as a way to strengthen cross-border trade and supply chains. To mark the moment, Onfreight sent one truck from Canada and another from the U.S. — a nod to a carrier that runs on both sides of the border (Truck News).
Here is the part that means the most to us. Onfreight is a BorderPrint customer, and they are a local operation in our own Windsor-Essex backyard. Watching a homegrown carrier — one we are proud to supply — carry the first commercial load across a bridge that this region waited generations for is exactly the kind of story that makes us love what we do. Congratulations to Steve and the entire Onfreight team. It could not have happened to a better crew.
4) What it means for the Windsor-Detroit freight corridor
For years, cross-border trucking through Windsor-Detroit funneled through a small number of aging pinch points. Adding a modern six-lane crossing with dedicated highway connections changes the geometry of the region. It does not erase congestion overnight, and traffic patterns will take time to settle as carriers, brokers, and drivers figure out the best routing for each lane (Global News).
But the direction of travel is clear: more capacity, more redundancy, and a second option when one crossing backs up. For a corridor that moves an enormous share of Canada-U.S. trade, that resilience matters — a single incident at one crossing no longer has to bottleneck the whole gateway. For carriers, the practical upside is planning flexibility. For the region, it is a long-term bet on keeping freight moving.
5) A new bridge, the same customs playbook
Here is the reassuring part for anyone worried the new crossing changes their paperwork: it does not. A new bridge is a new road, not a new customs regime. Canada-bound loads still clear through CBSA, and U.S.-bound loads still clear through CBP, using the same advance data and the same barcode-driven release process carriers already run at every other crossing.
In practical terms, that means the two workhorses of highway release are unchanged:
- PARS (Pre-Arrival Review System) for freight heading into Canada. The carrier applies a PARS barcode label, gives the number to the customs broker to file with CBSA in advance, and the officer scans it at the booth. Our PARS explainer walks through the whole flow.
- PAPS (Pre-Arrival Processing System) for freight heading into the U.S. Same idea, mirrored: a PAPS barcode label, filed with CBP through the broker ahead of arrival, scanned at the crossing.
Whether your driver rolls across the Gordie Howe, the Ambassador Bridge, or the tunnel, the release still hinges on a clean, scannable barcode that ties the truck to an entry the broker already filed. Get that right and the new bridge is simply a faster, wider road to the same booth.
6) Getting your PARS and PAPS labels sorted
If the new crossing has you reviewing your cross-border kit, this is a good moment to make sure your label supply is ready for both directions. BorderPrint prints direct-thermal PARS and PAPS barcode labels to the symbologies each agency expects — Code 128 for CBSA on PARS, Code 39 for CBP on PAPS — so the barcode scans on the first pass.
For Canada-bound loads clearing CBSA. Direct-thermal rolls with Code 128 barcodes.
For U.S.-bound loads clearing CBP. Direct-thermal rolls with Code 39 barcodes.
Related reading:
- PARS barcode labels explained (Canada-bound release)
- A8A in-bond routing explained (moving freight under bond)
BorderPrint guides on this topic:
- Canada CBSA Requirements — the full Canada-bound requirements walkthrough
- U.S. CBP Requirements — the full U.S.-bound requirements walkthrough
- PARS vs. PAPS — which release applies in each direction, side by side
- BorderPrint Resource Center — every guide and article indexed in one place
7) FAQ
When did the Gordie Howe International Bridge open?
The bridge opened to vehicle traffic at noon Eastern on Monday, July 27, 2026. The toll-free multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists is scheduled to open August 5.
How much is the toll for a commercial truck on the Gordie Howe Bridge?
Bridge officials set the commercial toll at roughly $12 CAD per axle for trucks, oversized vehicles and larger passenger vehicles, with a standard passenger-vehicle toll of about $8 CAD. Tolls are set by the bridge authority and can change.
Does the new bridge change how carriers clear customs?
No. The bridge adds a second road link between Windsor and Detroit, but the customs process is unchanged. Canada-bound loads clear through CBSA and U.S.-bound loads through CBP, with advance data and barcode labels — PARS for CBSA, PAPS for CBP — handled the same way as at any other crossing.