Windsor trucker looks forward to traffic relief a completed Gordie Howe bridge will bring

The Gordie Howe International Bridge, once completed, is expected to give residents and truckers some relief from the congestion currently surrounding the Ambassador bridge border crossing between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit.

"I know once that Gordie Howe bridge is put up and completely finished and useable that there will a lot less traffic down there," cross-border trucker Holly Noble said.

The Gordie Howe bridge, a six-lane span, will provide a third crossing between Michigan and Windsor, connecting Michigan's I-75 to Highway 401 via the Herb Grey Parkway. Officials say the bridge should be completed by the end of 2024. 

A recent CBC story highlighted the heavy truck traffic on Huron Church Road, the main artery to the busy Ambassador Bridge crossing, and truckers who are making their way on to the bridge through an alternate route, an entrance on Wyandotte Street West that intersects with the University of Windsor campus.

Students said they felt unsafe around the truck traffic, and one worker in the area said he felt people were being held hostage by the big rigs. 

"We're not there to cause any issues," Noble said. "We're just there to do our jobs... we're at work. We're held just as much hostage by the traffic than anybody else. If anything we're the ones that are obligated to sit there for an hour or two." 

Noble said that traffic stacks up when border officials decide to x-ray and search more vehicles.

"It's maybe once a week that traffic's backed up more than normal and that's typically Wednesdays."

"I think a majority of the people that use that route are local truckers," she said. "It's a safer route. It's a local route." 

Lak Shoan of the Ontario Trucking Association said the new bridge will help alleviate some of the concerns.

"We understand that when extended back ups occur, it can create frustrations and delays for drivers," said Shoan, who is the association's director of policy and industry awareness programs.

"Being able to divert or spread out some of that traffic to the new bridge is going to alleviate some of those concerns moving forward, or at the very least help to mitigate any impact that back ups may have to the local community."

'Huge change'

The city of Windsor is embarking on a review of all the truck routes in the city, which they hope to complete early next year.

Initially, traffic flows relating to the upcoming bridge were not included in the study according to Shawna Boakes, the city of Windsor's executive director of operations, but it is now figuring into the equation more and more.

"It's going to be a huge change about how traffic gets international," Boakes said. 

"[Huron Church] is a funnel and the Gordie Howe is going to significantly change how we do that." 

"The number of trucks that go through our border, it's astronomical... the hope, is that Huron Church will be less of a truck route and back to an arterial route for our residents."

Shoan said the new bridge will make the border crossing experience more seamless "including the ability to avoid local roads where possible."