{{Short description|Suspension bridge connecting Detroit, Michigan, with Windsor, Ontario}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox bridge | bridge_name = Ambassador Bridge | image = Ambassador Bridge 2025a.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = View from Detroit's Riverside Park towards Windsor, Ontario, 2025 | official_name = Ambassador International Bridge | carries = 4 lanes of {{jct|state=MI|Tour|LECT}} connecting {{jct|state=ON|Highway|3}} in Canada to {{jct|state=MI|I|75|I|96}} in the United States | crosses = Detroit River, Canada–United States border | locale = Detroit–Windsor | maint = Detroit International Bridge Company and Canadian Transit Company | id = | design = Suspension bridge with truss bridge approaches | mainspan = {{nowrap|{{convert|1850|ft|m}}}}<ref name=mcm-4>{{cite book |last = Hatt |first = WK |title = Detroit River Bridge |location = Pittsburgh |publisher = McClintic-Marshall Company |year = 1930 |oclc = 43148098 |page = 4 }}</ref> | length = {{nowrap|{{convert|7500|ft|m}}}}<ref name=mcm-4 /> | width = {{convert|47|ft|m}} | height = {{convert|386|ft|m}} | clearance = | below = {{nowrap|{{convert|152|ft|m}}}}<ref name=mcm-4 /> | traffic = 10,000+ trucks per day, 4,000+ autos per day | begin = August 16, 1927<ref name=mcm-7>{{harvp|Hatt|1930|p=7|ps=.}}</ref> | complete = November 6, 1929<ref name=mcm-7 /> | open = {{start date and age|1929|11|15|p=yes}}<ref name=mcm-7/> | builder = McClintic-Marshall Company | closed = | toll = US$10.00/CA$14.00 (2026) | coordinates = {{Coord|42.312|-83.074|region:US-MI_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} }}
The '''Ambassador Bridge''' is an international suspension bridge across the Detroit River that connects Detroit, Michigan, United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1929, the toll bridge is the busiest international border crossing in North America in terms of trade volume, carrying more than 25% of all merchandise trade between the United States and Canada by value.<ref>{{Cite news |last = Lawder |first = David |date = February 11, 2022 |title = Analysis: Truckers in perfect spot to threaten cross-border trade |language = en |url = https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/truckers-ambassador-bridge-perfect-spot-threaten-us-canada-trade-2022-02-11/ |publisher = Reuters |access-date = March 31, 2022 |archive-date = March 31, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220331050130/https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/truckers-ambassador-bridge-perfect-spot-threaten-us-canada-trade-2022-02-11/ |url-status = live }}</ref> A 2004 Border Transportation Partnership study showed that 150,000 jobs in the Detroit–Windsor region and US$13 billion in annual production depend on the Detroit–Windsor international border crossing.<ref>{{cite web |author = Detroit Regional Chamber |year = 2006 |url = http://www.detroitchamber.com/detroiter/articles.asp?cid=7&detcid=531 |title = Detroit–Windsor Border Update: Part I-Detroit River International Crossing Study |publisher = Detroit Regional Chamber |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060321130504/http://www.detroitchamber.com/detroiter/articles.asp?cid=7&detcid=531 |archive-date = March 21, 2006 }}</ref>
The bridge is one of the few{{Quantify|date=February 2026}} privately owned US–Canada crossings; it was owned by Grosse Pointe billionaire Manuel Moroun, until his death in July 2020, through the '''Detroit International Bridge Company''' in the United States<ref>{{cite news |first = Curt |last = Guyette |date = March 28, 2007 |url = http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=10339 |title = Over the Border: Legislator Says Proposed Development Authority Would Create Jobs, Boost Economy |work = Metro Times |type = Editorial |access-date = March 29, 2007 |archive-date = September 2, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120902090522/http://www2.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=10339 |url-status = live }}</ref> and the '''Canadian Transit Company''' in Canada.<ref>{{cite news |first = Jennifer |last = O'Brien |url = https://lfpress.com/news/london/2011/08/02/18502681.html |title = Bridge Brouhaha |work = The London Free Press |date = August 3, 2011 |access-date = December 15, 2011 |archive-date = September 18, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170918154237/http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/08/02/18502681.html |url-status = dead }}</ref> In 1979, when the previous owners put it on the New York Stock Exchange and shares were traded, Moroun was able to buy shares, eventually acquiring the bridge.<ref name=voylesmorouninterview2009>{{cite news |last = Voyles |first = S. |date = May–June 2009 |title = The Man Behind the Bridge |url = http://www.corpmagazine.com/DesktopModules/EngagePublish/printerfriendly.aspx?itemId=701&PortalId=0&TabId=86 |work = Corp! |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130628224239/http://www.corpmagazine.com/DesktopModules/EngagePublish/printerfriendly.aspx?itemId=701&PortalId=0&TabId=86 |archive-date = June 28, 2013 |df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.windsorsquare.ca/2011/09/wikileaks-and-the-dric-smoking-guns-part-2-a-windsor-square-exclusive/ |access-date = August 27, 2012 |newspaper = Corp! |title = Wikileaks and the DRIC Smoking Guns |date = November 2011 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130115185432/http://www.windsorsquare.ca/2011/09/wikileaks-and-the-dric-smoking-guns-part-2-a-windsor-square-exclusive/ |archive-date = January 15, 2013 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref> The bridge carries 60 to 70 percent of commercial truck traffic in the region.<ref>{{cite web |publisher = Public Border Operators Association |title = Traffic Data |url = http://www.publicborderoperators.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=18 |access-date = August 27, 2012 |archive-date = March 4, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304003106/http://www.publicborderoperators.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=18 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1 = Federal Highway Administration |author-link = Federal Highway Administration |author2 = Michigan Department of Transportation |author2-link = Michigan Department of Transportation |name-list-style = amp |title = Final Environmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluation |url = http://www.partnershipborderstudy.com/reports_us.asp |publisher = Partnership Border Study |access-date = August 27, 2012 |archive-date = January 8, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180108141629/http://www.partnershipborderstudy.com/reports_us.asp |url-status = live }}</ref> Moroun also owned the Ammex Detroit duty-free stores at both the bridge and the tunnel.<ref name="tax">{{cite news |url = http://www.freep.com/article/20110425/NEWS06/104250381/Tax-free-fuel-sales-bonanza-Ambassador-Bridge-owners |title = Tax-Free Fuel Sales Are Bonanza for Ambassador Bridge Owners |work = Detroit Free Press |date = April 25, 2011 |access-date = April 25, 2011 |archive-date = January 28, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160128115743/http://www.freep.com/article/20110425/NEWS06/104250381/Tax-free-fuel-sales-bonanza-Ambassador-Bridge-owners |url-status = dead }}</ref> The Moroun family had sought to stop the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor and Detroit, arguing that it infringes on their alleged exclusive right to collect tolls.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2026 |title=Trump threatens to block opening of new bridge between Windsor and Detroit |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/trump-gordie-howe-bridge-9.7081924 |work=CBC}}</ref>
==History== thumb|left|Aerial view of the bridge, 1941 left|thumb|Ambassador Bridge in 1979 The passage across the Detroit River became an important traffic route following the American Civil War. The Michigan Central and the Great Western railroads in addition to others operated on either side of the border connecting Chicago with the Atlantic Seaboard. To cross the Detroit River, these railroads operated ferries between docks on either side. The ferries lacked the capacity to handle the shipping needs of the railroads, and there were often 700–1,000 freight cars waiting to cross the river, with numerous passengers delayed in transit. Warehouses in Chicago were forced to store grain that they could not ship to eastern markets and foreign goods were stored in eastern warehouses waiting shipment to the western United States. The net effect of these delays increased commodity prices in the country, and both merchants and farmers wanted a solution from the railroads.<ref name=mason31>{{cite book |url = https://archive.org/details/ambassadorbridge0000maso |url-access = registration |title = The Ambassador Bridge: A Monument to Progress |first1 = Philip P. |last1 = Mason |publisher = Wayne State University Press |isbn = 978-0-814-31840-9 |year = 1987 |location = Detroit |pages = 31+ }}</ref>
The Michigan Central proposed the construction of a tunnel under the river with the support of their counterparts at the Great Western Railway. Construction started in 1871 and continued until ventilating equipment failed the next year; work was soon abandoned. Attention turned in 1873 to the alternative of building a railroad bridge over the river. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commissioned a study of a bridge over the Detroit River. Representatives of the shipping industry on the Great Lakes opposed any bridge with piers in the river as a hazard to navigation. Discussions continued for the remainder of the decade to no avail; a bridge over the Detroit River was not approved. The U.S. Congress requested a new study for a bridge in 1889, but no bridge was approved. Finally, the Michigan Central built the Detroit River Tunnel in 1909–10 to carry trains under the river. This tunnel benefited the Michigan Central and Great Western railroads, but the Canada Southern Railway and other lines still preferred a bridge over the river.<ref name=mason32>{{harvp|Mason|1987|pp=32–47|ps=.}}</ref> Plans for a bridge were revived in 1919 to commemorate the end of World War I and to honor the "youth of Canada and the United States who served in the Great War".<ref name="mason48">{{harvp|Mason|1987|p=48|ps=.}}</ref>
However neither Ontario nor Michigan wanted to finance a river crossing. Michigan automakers subsequently decided to take the initiative to connect the Midwest to central Canada. After they created a bridge company, the project got into trouble when a Toronto financier hired to sell its securities instead embezzled the money and ran off, before ultimately committing suicide in a prison cell after conviction for murdering a drugstore clerk. The bridge boosters turned to New Yorker Joseph A. Bower, a businessman who specialized in rescuing mismanaged companies. Bower succeeded in raising the necessary initial $12 million. "The only way things can be done today, is by private business," said Henry Ford, who backed the project.<ref>{{Cite news |first = Luiza Ch. |last = Savage |date = May 21, 2015 |title = Canada's Battle for a New Cross-Border Bridge |url = https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/land-of-the-freeloaders-the-battle-for-a-new-cross-border-bridge/ |access-date = June 3, 2020 |work = Maclean's |archive-date = June 3, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200603204840/https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/land-of-the-freeloaders-the-battle-for-a-new-cross-border-bridge/ |url-status = live }}</ref> The bridge was constructed with investment from Detroit business people incorporated as the Detroit International Bridge Corporation.
Much later Berkshire Hathaway acquired a quarter of the shares before selling to another investor in the company, local trucking entrepreneur Manuel Moroun. Moroun continued buying further, eventually privatizing it.<ref>{{Cite web |url = https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2012/01/12/why-one-rich-man-shouldnt-own-an-international-bridge/?sh=4a1b59b76c18 |title = Forbes:January 12th, 2012:Joan Muller:Why one rich man should not own an international bridge |website = Forbes |access-date = February 16, 2022 |archive-date = August 29, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230829041837/https://gum.criteo.com/syncframe?origin=publishertag&topUrl=www.forbes.com |url-status = live }}</ref>
===Incidents===
thumb|Ambassador Bridge at night, in 2014 In April 1930, shortly after the bridge opened, a Canadian immigration inspector jumped to his death. The bridge has been used by other suicide jumpers. High divers considered it as a venue for a record; after measurements of the height and currents were taken into account, they were dissuaded and abandoned the attempt.<ref name="Mason">{{harvp|Mason|1987|p=130|ps=.}}</ref>
On November 14, 2000, a scaffold collapsed, sending three workers into the Detroit River and leaving four others dangling from safety harnesses. Jamie Barker, one of those who fell, died.<ref>{{cite web |date = November 14, 2001 |title = Engineers charged in fatal scaffold collapse |url = https://www.ehstoday.com/archive/article/21914808/engineers-charged-in-fatal-scaffold-collapse |url-status = live |access-date = September 6, 2021 |website = EHS Today |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201111192807/https://www.ehstoday.com/archive/article/21914808/engineers-charged-in-fatal-scaffold-collapse |archive-date = November 11, 2020 }}</ref> An engineer, George Snowden, was disciplined by Professional Engineers Ontario for his role in the collapse. In 2012, a design that Snowden approved caused the Radiohead stage collapse in Toronto. Snowden's associate Domenic Cugliari was also involved in both collapses.<ref name=":5">{{cite news |last1 = Nicholson |first1 = Katie |last2 = Gilchrist |first2 = Sylvène |date = April 3, 2019 |title = Stage design in fatal Radiohead concert collapse called for parts that didn't exist, witness says |url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/stage-design-in-fatal-radiohead-concert-collapse-called-for-parts-that-didn-t-exist-witness-says-1.5082347 |access-date = April 3, 2019 |website = CBC News |archive-date = September 6, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210906231948/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/stage-design-in-fatal-radiohead-concert-collapse-called-for-parts-that-didn-t-exist-witness-says-1.5082347 |url-status = live }}</ref>
In July 2023, Spencer Baker, another construction worker, fell from the scaffolding into the river; he was rescued with undisclosed injuries.<ref>{{Cite news |date = July 14, 2023 |title = 'Long road ahead' for survivor of 43-metre Ambassador Bridge fall |url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ambassador-bridge-baker-fall-1.6907549 |access-date = January 31, 2025 |work = CBC News }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last = Beard |first = George Petras and Stephen J. |date = July 13, 2023 |title = A harrowing rescue: After worker falls off Ambassador Bridge, witnesses rush to help |url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2023/07/13/ambassador-bridge-fall-rescue/70409754007/ |access-date = January 31, 2025 |website = USA Today |language = en-US }}</ref>
Access to the Ambassador Bridge was impeded by protesters during the Freedom Convoy protests in Canada.<ref>{{cite news |last1 = McNish |first1 = Paul Vieira and Jacquie |title = Truckers 'Freedom Convoy' Protests Disrupt Ambassador Bridge on U.S.-Canada Border |url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-vaccine-protests-disrupt-traffic-on-u-s-canada-bridge-11644351229?mod=hp_listc_pos1 |access-date = February 9, 2022 |work = Wall Street Journal |date = February 8, 2022 |archive-date = February 9, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220209045759/https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-vaccine-protests-disrupt-traffic-on-u-s-canada-bridge-11644351229?mod=hp_listc_pos1 |url-status = live }}</ref> Protesters at the bridge blockaded it on February 7, 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title = 2nd day of Ambassador Bridge protest halts vehicles from leaving Michigan, limits Windsor to U.S. traffic |newspaper = CBC News |date = February 8, 2022 |url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ambassador-bridge-protest-1.6343344 |access-date = February 9, 2022 |archive-date = February 9, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220209134604/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ambassador-bridge-protest-1.6343344 |url-status = live }}</ref> On the evening of February 7, traffic at the bridge came to a complete halt.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/02/07/covid-protest-sparks-traffic-delays-ambassador-bridge/6698271001/ |title = Police: Ambassador Bridge traffic to U.S. open after Canada protest |first = Mark |last = Hicks |date = February 7, 2022 |website = The Detroit News |access-date = February 9, 2022 |archive-date = February 9, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220209232648/https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/02/07/covid-protest-sparks-traffic-delays-ambassador-bridge/6698271001/ |url-status = live }}</ref> The blockade continued into February 8.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.ctvnews.ca/windsor/article/supporters-of-trucker-convoy-delay-traffic-at-canadas-busiest-border-crossing/ |title = Supporters of trucker convoy delay traffic at Canada's busiest border crossing |date = February 7, 2022 |website = CTV News |access-date = February 9, 2022 |archive-date = February 10, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220210012218/https://windsor.ctvnews.ca/supporters-of-trucker-convoy-delay-traffic-at-canada-s-busiest-border-crossing-1.5771424 |url-status = live }}</ref> On the morning of February 8, officials declared the bridge reopened, but the blockade later resumed, pushing trips to the Blue Water Bridge between Sarnia and Port Huron.{{Efn|Attributed to multiple sources.<ref>{{Cite news |last1 = Murphy |first1 = Jessica |last2 = Debusmann Jr |first2 = Bernd |url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60267841 |title = Canada truckers protest: Ambassador Bridge reopened |work = BBC News |date = February 8, 2022 |access-date = February 8, 2022 |archive-date = February 8, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220208192606/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60267841 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = 2nd day of Ambassador Bridge protest halts vehicles from leaving Michigan, limits Windsor to U.S. traffic |url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ambassador-bridge-protest-1.6343344 |access-date = February 8, 2022 |work = CBC News Windsor |publisher = Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |date = February 8, 2022 |location = Windsor ON |archive-date = February 9, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220209134604/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ambassador-bridge-protest-1.6343344 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1 = Hutchinson |first1 = Derick |last2 = Carr |first2 = Brandon |date = February 8, 2022 |title = US-bound traffic now fully open on Ambassador Bridge; traffic into Canada still closed |url = https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2022/02/08/us-bound-traffic-now-fully-open-on-ambassador-bridge-traffic-into-canada-still-closed/ |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220303171851/https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2022/02/08/us-bound-traffic-now-fully-open-on-ambassador-bridge-traffic-into-canada-still-closed/ |archive-date = March 3, 2022 |access-date = March 3, 2022 |work = ClickOnDetroit |publisher = WDIV-TV }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last = LaReau |first = Jamie L. |date = February 11, 2022 |title = Ford, Toyota see more production disruption as bridge protest continues |url = https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2022/02/11/ford-toyota-production-ambassador-bridge-trucker-protest/6751247001/ |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220303171851/https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2022/02/11/ford-toyota-production-ambassador-bridge-trucker-protest/6751247001/ |archive-date = March 3, 2022 |access-date = March 3, 2022 |newspaper = Detroid Free Press }}</ref>}}
In 2025, it was reported that undocumented immigrants that had accidentally driven onto the bridge were being detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection,<ref>{{Cite news |last = Garsd |first = Jasmine |date = March 26, 2025 |title = 'Felt like a kidnapping': Wrong turn leads to 5-day detention ordeal |url = https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/nx-s1-5335524/wrong-turn-bridge-detention-ordeal |access-date = June 23, 2025 |publisher = NPR |language = en }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last = Garsd |first = Jasmine |date = April 24, 2025 |title = Wrong turn leads to hundreds of immigrant arrests at the Detroit-Canada border bridge |url = https://www.npr.org/2025/04/24/nx-s1-5374937/immigrant-arrests-detroit-canada-border-bridge-detention |access-date = June 23, 2025 |publisher = NPR |language = en }}</ref> with Michigan Immigrant Rights Centre stating that over 200 people had been detained "between January and March [2025]—90 per cent of whom had mistakenly taken the wrong exit".<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last = Mazak |first = Madeline |date = April 25, 2025 |title = Wrong turn: Undocumented immigrants face U.S. detention after mistakenly driving to Windsor |url = https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/wrong-turn-undocumented-immigrants-face-u-s-detention-after-mistakenly-driving-to-windsor |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250425164328/https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/wrong-turn-undocumented-immigrants-face-u-s-detention-after-mistakenly-driving-to-windsor |archive-date = April 25, 2025 |access-date = June 23, 2025 |work = Windsor Star |language = en }}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Michigan Immigrant Rights Center requested clearer signage to prevent drivers from accidentally trying to cross the border to Canada.<ref>{{Cite news |last = Mazak |first = Madeline |date = April 25, 2025 |title = Wrong turn: Undocumented immigrants face U.S. detention after mistakenly driving to Windsor |url = https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/wrong-turn-undocumented-immigrants-face-u-s-detention-after-mistakenly-driving-to-windsor |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250425164328/https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/wrong-turn-undocumented-immigrants-face-u-s-detention-after-mistakenly-driving-to-windsor |archive-date = April 25, 2025 |access-date = June 23, 2025 |work = Windsor Star |language = en |quote = [Christine Sauvé] said the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center has long called for clearer signage near the border crossing. }}</ref>
==Design== [[File:Ambassador_Bridge_March_2025.jpg|alt=View from Detroit with Windsor, Ontario in the background, 2025|left|thumb|View of the bridge sign from Detroit with Windsor, Ontario in the background in 2025]] [[File:Ambassador bridge 2.JPG|thumb|left|View of the bridge from the Detroit River, with Canada to the left]]The bridge over the Detroit River had the longest suspended central span in the world when it was completed in 1929—{{convert|1,850|ft|m}}. This record held until the George Washington Bridge between New York and New Jersey opened in 1931. The bridge's total length is {{convert|7,500|ft|m|0}}. Construction began in 1927 and was completed in 1929. The general contractor and steel erector was the McClintic-Marshall Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite book |last = Hyde |first = Charles K. |year = 1993 |url = https://archive.org/details/historichighwayb0000hyde |url-access = registration |title = Historic Highway Bridges of Michigan |location = Detroit |publisher = Wayne State University Press |isbn = 0-8143-2448-7 |oclc = 27011079 |page = 148 }}</ref>
The bridge is made up of 21,000 short tons (19,000 tonnes) of steel, and the roadway rises as high as 152 feet (46 m) above the Detroit River. Only the main span over the river is supported by suspension cables; the approaches to the main pillars are held up by steel in a cantilever truss structure.<ref name="ambassadorbridge1">{{cite web |date = March 25, 2010 |url = http://www.ambassadorbridge.com/!Downloads/History.pdf |title = History of the Ambassador Bridge |publisher = Detroit International Bridge Company |access-date = March 25, 2010 |archive-date = March 14, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120314012640/http://www.ambassadorbridge.com/!Downloads/History.pdf |url-status = dead }}</ref>
The bridge originally featured a sidewalk on the structure's southwest side. After the September 11 attacks, pedestrians and bicycles were prohibited from traveling across the bridge due to increased security measures.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.detroit1701.org/Ambassador%20Bridge.html |publisher = detroit1701.org |title = Ambassador Bridge |access-date = May 21, 2009 |archive-date = July 25, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190725121400/http://www.detroit1701.org/Ambassador%20Bridge.html |url-status = live }}</ref> For years prior to September 11, 2001, the sidewalk was closed due to ongoing maintenance projects and repainting.<ref>{{cite report |url = https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_analysis/ambass_brdg/index.htm |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |author = Freight Management and Operations |title = Ambassador Bridge Site Report |access-date = May 21, 2009 |archive-date = October 19, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201019112612/https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_analysis/ambass_brdg/index.htm |url-status = dead }}</ref> The disused sidewalk was removed in 2013 as part of a deck replacement and lane widening project.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ambassadorbridge.com/restoring-the-ambassador-bridge/#1665552166698-c28a909e-5f6e |author=<!--not stated--> |date=<!--not stated--> |title=Restoring the Ambassador Bridge |website=Ambassador Bridge |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
Originally painted gloss black, the bridge underwent a five-year refurbishment between 1995 and 2000, which included stripping and repainting the bridge teal.<ref>{{cite news |last = Rohan |first = Barry |title = Paint Job Spans Nations |url = http://www.detroitbuildingtrades.org/newspapr/April132001.html#fitter |access-date = July 5, 2013 |newspaper = Detroit Free Press |date = October 11, 1997 |archive-date = March 4, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304044317/http://www.detroitbuildingtrades.org/newspapr/April132001.html#fitter |url-status = dead }}</ref>
Granite blocks, originally used on the U.S. side, were given to the Windsor Parks and Recreation Department, and now grace many of the pathways in Windsor parks.<ref name="ambassadorbridge1"/>
===Capacity=== thumb|Trucks back up on Ambassador Bridge from the American side of the Detroit River, August 2022The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest crossing on the Canada–United States border.<ref name="clui">{{cite web |url = http://www.clui.org/section/united-divide-a-linear-portrait-usacanada-border-3 |title = Chapter 4: The Watery Boundary |website = United Divide: A Linear Portrait of the USA/Canada Border |publisher = The Center for Land Use Interpretation |date = Winter 2015 |access-date = November 14, 2017 |archive-date = June 20, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180620075700/http://www.clui.org/section/united-divide-a-linear-portrait-usacanada-border-3 |url-status = live }}</ref> The four-lane bridge carries more than 10,000 commercial vehicles on a typical weekday. The Gateway Project, a major redesign of the U.S. plaza completed in July 2009, provides direct access to Interstate 96 (I-96) and I-75 on the American side and Ontario Highway 3 on the Canadian side. The Canadian end of the bridge connects to busy city streets in west Windsor, leading to congestion.<ref>{{cite map |title = Parkway Map |author = Detroit River International Crossing Study team |publisher = URS Corporation |date = May 1, 2008 |url = http://www.weparkway.ca/pdfs/Prelim_Parkway-Rendered_June09(608x2250)2.pdf |access-date = February 25, 2010 |format = PDF |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110706213130/http://www.weparkway.ca/pdfs/Prelim_Parkway-Rendered_June09(608x2250)2.pdf |archive-date = July 6, 2011 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref>
The privately owned bridge carries approximately 25% of roadway trade between Canada and the United States.<ref name="guide-controversy">{{cite news |author = Staff |date = July 12, 2012 |url = http://www.freep.com/article/99999999/NEWS06/399990109/The-proposed-new-U-S-Canada-bridge-Guide-controversy |title = The Proposed New US-Canada Bridge: Guide to the Controversy |work = Detroit Free Press |access-date = October 24, 2012 |archive-date = January 26, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130126095500/http://www.freep.com/article/99999999/NEWS06/399990109/The-proposed-new-U-S-Canada-bridge-Guide-controversy |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="freep.com">{{cite court |litigants = Michigan Department of Transportation v. Detroit International Bridge Company |vol = 09-015581-CK |court = Wayne County Circuit Court |date = 2011 |url = http://www.freep.com/assets/freep/pdf/C4181399113.PDF }}</ref>
Transport Canada reported the following distribution for the five largest U.S.–Canada border crossings by trucks in 2011:<ref>{{cite web |url = https://tc.canada.ca/en/corporate-services/policies/road-transportation-0 |title = Road Transportation |publisher = Transport Canada |date = March 5, 2021 |access-date = April 11, 2022 |archive-date = March 6, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220306004335/https://tc.canada.ca/en/corporate-services/policies/road-transportation-0 |url-status = live }}</ref> # 24.4% for Windsor-Ambassador Bridge # 14.4% for Sarnia–Blue Water Bridge, which links Port Huron, Michigan, with Point Edward, Ontario # 11.4% for Fort Erie–Peace Bridge, which connects Buffalo, New York, with Fort Erie, Ontario # 7.0% for Peace Arch Border Crossing, Pacific Highway/ Douglas, which links the U.S. State of Washington with British Columbia by land # 6.6% for Niagara Falls–Queenston Bridge, which links Lewiston, New York, with Queenston, Ontario.
In 2024, 2.3 million trucks passed over the Ambassador Bridge, a decline of 11.1% from the previous year, and the lowest traffic levels on record except for 2009 during the global financial crisis and 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{cite news |last = Schwab |first = Grant |title = Ambassador Bridge trucking traffic nears historic low as Gordie Howe opening looms |date = February 19, 2025 |url = https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2025/02/19/ambassador-bridge-trucking-traffic-hits-new-low-as-gordie-howe-looms-port-huron-michigan-canada/79107501007/ |work = detroitnews.com }}</ref>
==Additional bridge proposals== {{Main|Gordie Howe International Bridge}} thumb|An approach that had been constructed for a proposed twin span to the Ambassador Bridge [[File:Aerial Tour of Gordie Howe Bridge - 54603376784.jpg|thumb|Ambassador Bridge with the Gordie Howe International Bridge in the background in June 2025]] In summer 2009, the federal government of Canada reportedly offered to buy the Ambassador Bridge from Moroun for around $2 billion, but talks broke down when Moroun asked for $3 billion plus incentives.<ref>{{cite news |last = |first = |title = Ambassador Bridge boss said to ask $3B from Canada |date = February 10, 2010 |url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2010/02/10/windsor-ambassador-bridge-100210.html |work = cbc.ca }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last = McKenna |first = Barrie |title = The foreign owner of Canada's vital U.S. trade link |date = November 21, 2010 |url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-foreign-owner-of-canadas-vital-us-trade-link/article1807863 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101125102454/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-foreign-owner-of-canadas-vital-us-trade-link/article1807863 |archive-date = November 25, 2010 |url-status = dead |work = theglobeandmail.com }}</ref>
In June 2012, the Canadian and United States governments approved the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge proposed by the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) commission.<ref name="CanadafinancedJune2012">{{cite news |url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/1b-windsor-detroit-bridge-deal-struck-1.1141713 |title = $1B Windsor-Detroit Bridge Deal Struck: A Saga that Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien Started in 2002 Takes a Major Step Forward |date = June 15, 2012 |publisher = CBC News |access-date = June 15, 2012 |archive-date = August 23, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130823094942/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/story/2012/06/14/wdr-prime-minister-bridge-windsor-detroit.html |url-status = live }}</ref> The new bridge further downriver between Detroit and Windsor will be owned and operated by the Windsor–Detroit Bridge Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Canadian federal government.
Moroun spoke out against this proposal. He sued the governments of Canada and Michigan to stop its construction, and released a proposal to build a second span of the Ambassador Bridge (which he would own) instead.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ambassador-bridge-boss-sues-canada-u-s-1.904666 |title = Ambassador Bridge Boss Sues Canada, US |location = Ottawa |publisher = CBC News |date = March 26, 2010 |access-date = April 20, 2011 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101216064434/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/windsor/story/2010/03/25/windsor-ambassador-bridge-owner-sues.html |archive-date = December 16, 2010 }}</ref> Critics suggest that Moroun's opposition was fueled by the prospect of lost profits from duty-free gasoline sales, which are exempt from about 60 cents per gallon in taxes even though the pump price to consumers is only a few cents lower.<ref name="tax" /> On May 5, 2011, a judge dismissed the case, citing a lack of reasoning for it to proceed.<ref>{{cite news |title = Sierra Club, Bridge Lose Bid To Derail NITC |first = Dylan |last = Kristy |work = The Windsor Star |date = May 5, 2011 |url = https://windsorstar.com/technology/Sierra+Club+bridge+lose+derail+DRIC/4729384/story.html |access-date = May 10, 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110508044126/http://www.windsorstar.com/technology/Sierra+Club+bridge+lose+derail+DRIC/4729384/story.html |archive-date = May 8, 2011 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> In September 2011, Matthew Moroun said that a public bridge "likely would put the Ambassador Bridge out of business."<ref>{{cite news |last = Christoff |first = Chris |title = Ambassador Bridge owner Moroun, with backing of Koch brothers and others, fights to keep his Canada crossing, halt public bridge |date = September 14, 2011 |url = https://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20110914/FREE/110919961/ambassador-bridge-owner-moroun-with-backing-of-koch-brothers-and |work = crainsdetroit.com }}</ref>
Michigan and Canadian authorities continued to support the Gordie Howe International Bridge proposal, as it directly connects the Canadian E.C. Row Expressway and the 2015 extension of Ontario Highway 401 (which runs concurrently as a shared highway for {{convert|2|km|mi}} to the future crossing as the Windsor–Essex Parkway) with I-75 and I-96 in Michigan, bypasses Windsor's surface streets and reduces congestion. A twin span adjacent to the Ambassador Bridge, by itself, does not address Canadian concerns about traffic on Huron Church Road in Windsor. While many of the stop lights commonly cited have been removed by the expansion of Highway 401 (Herb Gray Parkway) which will connect to the Gordie Howe bridge downriver, the final approach to the Ambassador Bridge remains on overcrowded Windsor surface streets.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.freep.com/article/20110424/OPINION01/104240490/Editorial-second-Detroit-River-crossing-Just-build-it?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7COpinion%7Cp&odyssey=mod%7Cdnmiss%7Cumbrella%7C1 |type = Editorial |title = A Second Detroit River Crossing: Just Build It |work = Detroit Free Press |date = April 12, 2011 |access-date = May 9, 2011 |archive-date = October 6, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121006203607/http://www.freep.com/article/20110424/OPINION01/104240490/Editorial-second-Detroit-River-crossing-Just-build-it?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7COpinion%7Cp&odyssey=mod%7Cdnmiss%7Cumbrella%7C1 |url-status = live }}</ref>
In 2007, the privately owned bridge company was granted a permit by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to build a new bridge across the Detroit River adjacent to the existing span, which expired in 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=17626 |title = Michigan Gives Thumbs Up to Twin Ambassador Span: Report |date = March 16, 2007 |work = Today's Trucking |access-date = September 5, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927141647/http://www.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=17626 |archive-date = September 27, 2007 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = Despite Prop 8 Defeat, Fight For Private Bridge Continues |url = https://wearemodeshift.org/despite-prop-6-defeat-fight-for-private-bridge-continues |work = Mode Shift |date = November 21, 2012 |access-date = November 28, 2021 |archive-date = November 29, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211129001849/https://wearemodeshift.org/despite-prop-6-defeat-fight-for-private-bridge-continues |url-status = live }}</ref> The U.S. Coast Guard issued the bridge company a permit in 2016 to construct the new span. {{asof|2021|post=,}} construction cannot proceed until current bridge owner Matthew Moroun addresses a "conflict" with the bridge's permit issued for the Canadian side by Transport Canada in 2017. The Coast Guard permit was granted on the condition that the existing Ambassador Bridge would be retained and rehabilitated, while the Transport Canada permit was granted on the condition that the existing bridge would be dismantled and removed.<ref>{{cite news |first = Dave |last = Battagello |date = October 21, 2021 |title = Ambassador Bridge twin span facing permit woes, status in question |url = https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/ambassador-bridge-twin-span-facing-permit-woes-status-questioned |newspaper = Windsor Star |location = Windsor, Ontario |access-date = November 28, 2021 |archive-date = November 29, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211129001839/https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/ambassador-bridge-twin-span-facing-permit-woes-status-questioned |url-status = live }}</ref>
In 2022, the five year construction permit issued by Transport Canada expired.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last = Viau |first = Jason |date = September 1, 2022 |title = Ambassador Bridge permit for a 2nd span expires, fuelling uncertainty in west-end Windsor |url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/boarded-up-homes-second-span-1.6569621 |access-date = July 24, 2023 |website = CBC News |archive-date = July 24, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230724142353/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/boarded-up-homes-second-span-1.6569621 |url-status = live }}</ref> Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra noted that conversations between the federal government, the City of Windsor and the bridge company were "ongoing".<ref name=":0" />
In 2025, the ''Windsor Star'' reported that the bridge company had "abandoned the idea" of a second span,<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last = Campbell |first = Taylor |date = March 17, 2025 |title = 'Pathway forward'—Demolition approved for boarded-up Ambassador Bridge homes in west Windsor |url = https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/pathway-forward-demolition-approved-for-boarded-up-ambassador-bridge-homes-in-west-windsor |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250319024727/https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/pathway-forward-demolition-approved-for-boarded-up-ambassador-bridge-homes-in-west-windsor |archive-date = March 19, 2025 |access-date = June 23, 2025 |work = Windsor Star |language = en }}</ref> with Windsor local councillor Fabio Costante stated that the bridge company are "no longer going to be doing the replacement span".<ref>{{Cite news |last = Campbell |first = Taylor |date = May 9, 2025 |title = Ambassador Bridge company demolishing its Windsor 'ramp to nowhere' |url = https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/ambassador-bridge-company-demolishing-its-windsor-ramp-to-nowhere |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250513202853/https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/ambassador-bridge-company-demolishing-its-windsor-ramp-to-nowhere |archive-date = May 13, 2025 |access-date = June 23, 2025 |work = Windsor Star |language = en |quote = The demolition began earlier this week and confirms what the bridge company 'has been saying for a few years now, that they're no longer going to be doing the replacement span', Ward 2 Coun. Fabio Costante told the Star. }}</ref> They also reported that the bridge company planned to build a secondary truck inspection facility closer to the bridge.<ref name=":3" />
==Legal issues and criticisms== The bridge's private ownership has been a concern as the bridge carries approximately 25% of trade between Canada and the United States.<ref name="guide-controversy" /> Although alternate routes exist, including the nearby Detroit–Windsor Tunnel, preventing monopoly status, the route is of significant value since it passes directly through major metropolitan areas. The aforementioned tunnel prohibits certain vehicles.
In 2010 and 2011, the Wayne County Circuit Court found the Detroit International Bridge Company in contempt for failing to directly connect bridge access roads to I-75 and I-96, and making other required improvements as part of the Gateway Project.<ref name="freep.com" /> These improvements would normally be under the control of the state government; however, the Detroit International Bridge Company withheld the improvements as part of a negotiation strategy. At one point, Matty Moroun and his chief deputy at the Detroit International Bridge Co, Dan Stamper, were jailed for non-compliance with orders to complete the on-ramps.<ref name=MouronJailed>{{cite news |url = http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-01-12/michigan-canada-ambassador-bridge/52517112/1 |title = Mich. Billionaire, 84, Jailed Over Bridge Dispute |work = USA Today |access-date = October 1, 2014 |archive-date = February 5, 2013 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130205075646/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-01-12/michigan-canada-ambassador-bridge/52517112/1 |url-status = dead }}</ref>
After years of legal battles, activism by local people against neighborhood truck traffic, and stalling by Matty Moroun, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) took over the I-75/I-96 on-ramp project and opened the ramps in September 2012 after a six-month construction period.<ref>{{cite news |title = Ramps Linking Bridge to Michigan Highways Open to Traffic |newspaper = The Windsor Star |date = September 21, 2012 |first = Claire |last = Brownell <!-- |access-date = July 11, 2014 --> }}</ref> One possible motive for the Gateway Project delays was Moroun's desire to route traffic past his lucrative duty-free store and fuel pumps,<ref name=MouronJailed/> one of only two border locations to sell untaxed fuel (the other is International Falls, Minnesota).<ref name="tax"/> Critics of the duty-free fuel operation objected that sixty cents from each U.S. gallon went not to paving Michigan's underfunded highways but instead directly to Matty Moroun.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/04/report_ambassador_bridge_owner.html |title = Report: Ambassador Bridge Owners Reap Profits from Tax-Free Gas Sales |work = MLive |publisher = Booth Newspapers |agency = Associated Press |date = April 25, 2011 |access-date = October 1, 2014 |archive-date = August 29, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230829041729/https://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/2011/04/report_ambassador_bridge_owner.html |url-status = live }}</ref>
Operators of large trucks under the International Fuel Tax Agreement, which in theory should impose Ontario tax and partially refund Michigan tax on fuel purchased in Detroit and consumed on Ontario's Highway 401, may be disqualified for the Michigan IFTA refund, as the tax was never paid.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.todaystrucking.com/printarticle.cfm?intDocID=14967 |title = The Folly of Tax-Free Fuel |work = Today's Trucking |access-date = July 31, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140808053301/http://www.todaystrucking.com/printarticle.cfm?intDocID=14967 |archive-date = August 8, 2014 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref> In a 2012 lawsuit, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development sued Moroun's company, Ammex, claiming it mislabeled motorcar fuels to advertise 93 octane while tests showed as little as 91.2 octane.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/25/michigan-sues-matty-morouns-duty-free-company-over-gas-sales/ |title = Michigan Sues Matty Moroun's Duty-Free Company Over Gas Sales |location = Southfield, MI |publisher = WWJ-TV |access-date = October 1, 2014 |archive-date = August 29, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230829041732/https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/michigan-sues-matty-morouns-duty-free-company-over-gas-sales/ |url-status = live }}</ref>
In 2015, Windsor city officials criticized the decaying appearance of the bridge and called attention to the hazard posed by crumbling concrete from its superstructure. In response, Matt Moroun accused the city of attempting to thwart the company's efforts to rebuild or repair the structure because the Canadian government is supporting plans for a new bridge across the Detroit River downriver.<ref name="DFP AB">{{cite news |last = Lawrence |first = Eric |date = October 15, 2015 |title = Ambassador Bridge rains concrete chunks down on Windsor |url = https://eu.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015/10/15/windsor-closes-streets-near-ambassador-bridge/73978234/ |newspaper = Detroit Free Press |access-date = November 28, 2021 |archive-date = August 29, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230829041731/https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015/10/15/windsor-closes-streets-near-ambassador-bridge/73978234/ |url-status = live }}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Michigan|Ontario}} * Blue Water Bridge, which links Port Huron, Michigan, to Sarnia, Ontario * Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, which links Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario * List of bridges in Canada * List of international bridges in North America
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== {{Refbegin}} * {{cite book |last = Fisher |first = Dale |title = Building Michigan: A Tribute to Michigan's Construction Industry |year = 2003 |location = Grass Lake, Michigan |publisher = Eyry of the Eagle |isbn = 1-891143-24-7 }} * {{cite magazine |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=p-IDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA206 |title = 'Good Will' Bridge to Canada Has Longest Span |magazine = Popular Mechanics |date = February 1930 |pages = 206–208 }} {{Refend}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * [http://www.ambassadorbridge.com/ Ambassador Bridge Official Website] * {{Structurae|id=20000532|title=Ambassador Bridge}} * [https://archive.today/20130102125227/http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=13&category=business Detroit News archives: The Building of the Ambassador Bridge] * [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10241088 NPR profile: Private Bridge on Canada Border a Security Concern] * [http://swoda.uwindsor.ca/subject/Ambassador-Bridge-%28Windsor-Detroit%29 Southwestern Ontario Digital Archive: Subject: Ambassador Bridge (Windsor Detroit)]
{{LongestBridge | type = suspension | start = 1929 | end = 1931 | previous = Benjamin Franklin Bridge | current = Ambassador Bridge | next = George Washington Bridge }} {{Crossings navbox |structure = Crossings |place = Detroit River |bridge = Ambassador Bridge |bridge signs = <!--the Ambassador isn't signed as part of any highway.--> |upstream = Michigan Central Railway Tunnel |upstream signs = ''Canadian Pacific Railway'' |downstream = Gordie Howe International Bridge |downstream signs = }} {{Windsor, Ontario}} {{MIHistory}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Art Deco architecture in Canada Category:Art Deco architecture in Michigan Category:Bridges completed in 1929 Category:Bridges in Detroit Category:Buildings and structures in Windsor, Ontario Category:Canada–United States border crossings Category:Bridges over the Detroit River Category:Lake Erie Circle Tour Category:Road bridges in Michigan Category:Road bridges in Ontario Category:Suspension bridges in Canada Category:Suspension bridges in the United States Category:Toll bridges in Michigan Category:Toll bridges in Canada Category:Towers in Michigan Category:Towers in Ontario Category:Transport in Windsor, Ontario Category:Steel bridges in the United States Category:Steel bridges in Canada Category:1929 establishments in Michigan Category:1929 establishments in Ontario