Washington– opening Canadian-American bridge A Detroit River crossing that President Donald Trump previously threatened to ban has been delayed due to “outstanding issues.”
In a statement issued Thursday ahead of Friday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony on the bridge, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority said: “Canada and the United States have agreed to delay the opening of the bridge, while taking the necessary time to resolve any outstanding issues.”
The Gordie Howe International Bridge is jointly owned by Canada and Michigan, and was expected to open to traffic later this month.
The opening of the bridge remained in question for several months after Trump, a Republican, last February demanded that Canada hand over at least half of ownership of the bridge to the US federal government and agree to other unspecified demands in one of his many criticisms on cross-border trade issues.
Calls to open the bridge were issued this week after a conversation between Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wales.
“This project is a strong example of bipartisan and international cooperation, and the Governor looks forward to attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony when it occurs,” said a statement from Whitmer’s spokesman, Bobby Leddy.