- Direct losses from delaying opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge in Detroit could hit $7 million per week, a new study says.
- But the impact could be far greater, given the threat to slow trade, according to the Anderson Economic Group
- The analysis follows President Donald Trump’s threat to block the bridge opening
Delaying the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Michigan and Canada could cost the bridge authority and taxpayers a combined $7 million per week, according to a new analysis.
The findings from the Anderson Economic Group of East Lansing follows President Donald Trump’s threat to block the opening, calling for Canada to agree to a litany of unspecified demands as the two nations prepare to renegotiate a sprawling trade pact later this year.
According to the AEG report released Thursday morning, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority stands to lose $5 million per week if the project is delayed, while the cost to taxpayers for related customs plazas would add up to $2 million to the losses.
“These are direct and unavoidable costs of delay,” said Patrick Anderson, a study author and former deputy budget director under Republican Gov. John Engler.
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However, the reach of losses could extend much further, Anderson warned.
The direct costs “are only a fraction of the costs to the automotive industry, as well as to the agricultural, tourism, and other industries dependent on efficient crossing of the US-Canada border,” Anderson said.
The bridge, which would connect Detroit to Windsor, would be a vital economic artery between the two countries, joining the Ambassador Bridge in Michigan’s largest city.
The Gordie Howe bridge has been under construction since 2018 but is expected to open soon. Canada is paying all upfront costs for the bridge, which will be jointly owned with Michigan.
Citing concerns with tariffs on US dairy products, boycotts on US-made liquor and Canadian trade talks with China, Trump warned he would not allow the bridge to open “until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given (Canada).”
Trump’s comments generated blowback, leading to some reports that he may rethink the strategy.
Concerns came from several Michigan Democrats and former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican who played a key role in negotiating the project. He refuted Trump claims that the bridge deal was unfair to the US.
Several Michigan Republicans, including House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, have said they consider Trump’s warning appropriate leverage.
If the bridge is delayed, “much of the burden will fall on Canadian lenders, businesses, and taxpayers,” Anderson said. “However, taxpayers in the United States and residents of the state of Michigan, which under the International Crossing Agreement will own a 50% interest in the Bridge, will also bear part of the cost.”
Earlier studies by AEG determined long-term economic benefits of a new bridge crossing as well as the large economic significance of existing border crossings, including the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit-Windsor and the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron-Sarnia.
The significance is due in part to the automobile industry, notably assembly and parts plants in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky.
Effects from blocking the bridge will carry “tremendous consequences” for Michigan and the US, warned Sandy Baruah, president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber.
The Chamber and others already have noted they are bracing for this year’s federal review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade pact Trump signed during his first term. Bloomberg recently reported that Trump has privately discussed withdrawing from the pact.
“The U.S.-Canada trade relationship and economies have been successfully intertwined for well over a century, benefiting both sides of our shared border,” Baruah said in a statement this week.
“As Americans, we need to lean into and build off this relationship to maintain our global competitiveness and create jobs and economic growth.”
Baruah called the bridge “the most consequential infrastructure project in the state and region of this generation.”
Anderson agreed.
“The potential costs of delay, while significant, are also a tiny fraction of (the bridge’s) value,” he said. “For this and other reasons, we remain confident of its economic viability even if its opening is delayed. “
AEG’s analysis comes with limitations, Anderson said, including the lack of posted toll costs and the costs for US Customs to operate its onsite plaza.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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