A billionaire tried to stop a $5.4BN bridge project at the US-Canada border. Here's why

It's a battle of the bridges.
Derya Ozdemir

Have you ever heard of the Gordie Howe International Bridge? It's a joint effort to relieve bottlenecks on the single-busiest trade corridor on the border between the United States and Canada. More than two decades after its plan was first presented, it's finally set to be completed in late 2024.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will span the Detroit River for 853 meters, will be the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America. The $5.4-billion project will connect Detroit and Windsor, pushing the boundaries of engineering with a mammoth endeavor and providing an alternative to the overloaded Ambassador Bridge. As you can guess, this bridge will transform the United States-Canada border. It was, however, almost never built.