BusinessAfter 25 years of planning, seven years of construction and months of delays, the first trucks are finally set to roll over the Gordie Howe bridge on Monday. In tow will be some of the billions of dollars worth of goods that pass through the Windsor-Detroit corridor, which the bridge will help get to their destinations faster — saving time and money.The new bridge will speed up travel time for trucks, which has major economic benefitsAbby Hughes · CBC News · Posted: Jul 24, 2026 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 6 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.How the Gordie Howe bridge will reshape border crossingsJune 9|Duration 4:39After 25 years of planning, Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced that the Gordie Howe International Bridge, connecting Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, will open at the end of the week. For The National, CBC’s Peter Armstrong breaks down what the bridge promises and why Canadian taxpayers had to pay for it.After 25 years of planning, seven years of construction and months of delays, the first trucks are finally set to roll over the Gordie Howe bridge on Monday.In tow will be some of the billions of dollars worth of goods that pass through the Windsor-Detroit corridor, which the bridge will help get to their destinations faster — saving time and money."There's a tremendous opportunity here in dollar terms, but also in terms of what our future looks like, just embodied in that one bridge," said Moshe Lander, an economics professor at Concordia University who studies international trade.But just how much time and money are we talking about? Here's what you need to know.850,000 hours per year savedThe existing Blue Water Bridge, Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor Tunnel have supported massive amounts of trade for decades. But they're near capacity, which Canadian Trucking Alliance CEO Stephen Laskowski says has led to congestion.He says lines at customs plazas on both sides of the Ambassador Bridge have grown longer over the years. And the route leading to that crossing on the Windsor side also takes drivers through a dozen or so stoplights.But with three lanes of capacity going in each direction, the Gordie Howe is expected to speed things up significantly.The new bridge is expected to take 44.5 per cent of the commercial traffic that passes through the Windsor-Detroit corridor, according to a January filing from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security establishing the route as an official port of entry.WATCH | The new bridge's expected impact on Ambassador Bridge:Here's how much the Gordie Howe bridge is expected to cut into the Ambassador BridgeFebruary 20|Duration 2:21The opening of the new Gordie Howe bridge is widely expected to change the way billions of dollars worth of goods and millions of travelers cross between Canada and the U.S. But a recent U.S. government analysis puts a number on just how significant the traffic impact could be at the busiest international trade corridor in North America. The CBC's Emma Loop reports.