The Gordie Howe Bridge opened to cars at the end of July. Over five weeks of readings, 4 August to 7 September, it was no faster than the Ambassador Bridge or the tunnel, and on busy afternoons it was slower.
I’m Jacob. I live in Windsor and cross this river constantly, and I built this site to answer the question I have every time I leave the house: which way? Since the end of July there has been a third choice, so I went back through five weeks of the agencies’ readings to see how it has done.
Most of the time the difference doesn’t matter. The usual wait at all three crossings was five minutes going into Michigan and nothing coming home. For about nine hours of every day, mostly overnight and early morning, the new bridge had no line at all going into Michigan; coming home it had none for about sixteen. Between 3 and 6 in the morning there was next to no line at any of them.
The gap shows up when everyone else is crossing. The new bridge’s busy time is the afternoon, mostly between 3 and 6, and that is when it backed up more often and for longer than the other two. Going into Michigan it spent about five hours a week with a line over 20 minutes, against under two at each of the others. Coming home, about eight hours a week, against one and a half at the Ambassador and five at the tunnel.
CBP opens more inspection booths as the line grows, from two on an empty afternoon to a dozen at a peak. On Saturday 8 August at 5 pm the new bridge had a dozen open and still had a full hour’s line to get into Michigan, its worst hour of the five weeks. The same hour, going the same way, the Ambassador had eight booths open and a 25-minute line, and the tunnel six booths and 20 minutes.
How many minutes worse, at the times that matter? Between 3 and 6 in the afternoon the new bridge averaged about 10 minutes going into Michigan, against about 6 at the Ambassador and 7 at the tunnel. Coming home in the same hours it averaged about 11, against about 5 at the Ambassador and 7 at the tunnel. By day, going over, Sunday averaged 9 minutes at the new bridge, Monday 7 and Wednesday 3; coming home, Friday averaged 9, Sunday 7 and Wednesday 2. The single worst hours fell on a Saturday and a Sunday. Over the Labour Day weekend the new bridge was the slow way home, at about nine minutes on average against three or four at the other two.
Coming home, the worst single hour anywhere in the corridor was the Ambassador’s: 75 minutes on Friday 28 August at 5 pm, one bad hour at what is otherwise the calmest crossing in that direction.
With NEXUS, going into Michigan, the new bridge had no line for about fourteen hours of every day; the Ambassador had none for about seventeen, the tunnel about sixteen. Coming home there is no NEXUS reading to compare; CBSA does not publish one.
If you walk or cycle: the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority posted the bridge’s path closed on four of the 23 days between 16 August, when this site began checking the operator’s status page, and 7 September, the longest a 40-hour stretch from the Thursday evening before the Labour Day weekend to Saturday morning.
So: on a normal day, take whichever crossing is on your way; the difference is a minute or two. On a busy afternoon, and on Sundays, the new bridge has been the one most likely to have a line over 20 minutes. Before you leave, the live waits at all three are on the Detroit–Windsor page; this page is the five-week record behind them. Tolls are on each crossing’s own page.
The three crossings, 4 August to 7 September
Regular car booths, not NEXUS, each direction, every hour the agencies reported. The usual wait is the middle value: half the hours were shorter, half were longer. The average counts every hour, the bad ones included.
| Crossing | Direction | Usual wait | Average wait | Hours a week with a line over 20 minutes | Worst hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gordie Howe Bridge | Into Michigan | 5 min | 5.7 min | 5.0 hrs | 60 min, Sat 8 Aug, 5 pm |
| Ambassador Bridge | Into Michigan | 5 min | 4.3 min | 1.7 hrs | 35 min, Sun 30 Aug, 10 pm |
| Detroit–Windsor Tunnel | Into Michigan | 5 min | 4.9 min | 1.7 hrs | 35 min, Thu 13 Aug, noon |
| Gordie Howe Bridge | Into Windsor | 0 min | 4.9 min | 7.9 hrs | 45 min, Sun 9 Aug, 2 pm |
| Ambassador Bridge | Into Windsor | 0 min | 2.0 min | 1.5 hrs | 75 min, Fri 28 Aug, 5 pm |
| Detroit–Windsor Tunnel | Into Windsor | 0 min | 2.4 min | 5.0 hrs | 35 min, Fri 28 Aug, 4 pm |
How the numbers were made
The wait is the agency’s own estimate of the line at its booths: CBP going into Michigan, CBSA coming home. The approach roads are not counted. CBP updated its estimate about once an hour over the five weeks, CBSA a little less often. Each estimate counts until the next one. If an agency goes quiet for more than three hours, the gap is left out; that removes 13 of the 840 hours in the five weeks going into Michigan and 50 coming home. The bridge was already open when recording began on 4 August, so its first days are not here.
Everything behind these figures is public: the readings and the script that made them. What CBP and CBSA count, and what the labels on a live card mean, is on the wait-time guide.