Why is the Gordie Howe bridge not open yet? It's complicated

DETROIT — It's been three weeks since the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge was officially completed, and the opening of the new $4.7 billion span is as clear as Detroit River water.

During the week of June 8, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority was making plans to formally open the new Canadian-financed Detroit-to-Windsor bridge after eight years of construction, which officially ended on June 9, according to a Wall Street rating agency report published Monday.

But those plans were canceled on June 11, one day before the planned ribbon-cutting ceremony on the Ontario side of the span. The bridge authority had told stakeholders it planned to open the bridge to its first truck and passenger traffic on June 15, but that never happened.

Here's the latest update on what's been going on over the past three weeks:

Why is the bridge closed?

Canadian and U.S. officials have been tight-lipped about the exact reasons the bridge opening was postponed indefinitely.

But it's not because of any technical or construction issues, officials have said.

On June 1, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told a U.S. Senate committee that Customs and Border Protection was "staffed, ready to go" for checking vehicles at the new 148-acre U.S. port of entry complex in southwest Detroit.

On June 11, the WDBA's interim CEO, Chuck Andary, issued a statement that gave an open-ended timeline: "Canada and the United States have agreed to delay the opening of the bridge, taking the necessary time to resolve any outstanding issues."

What is the holdup?

In February, President Donald Trump threatened to block the opening of the bridge if Canada didn't make concessions in trade negotiations.

Hours before Trump's threat, his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, met with Michigan businessman Matthew Moroun, owner of the Ambassador Bridge, Detroit's only bridge to Windsor.

Lutnick and U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra, a former Michigan congressman, pushed back on efforts by the Canadians and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's office to open the bridge, with Hoekstra saying "lots of people objected because they were caught off guard."

Since the bridge opening was delayed, two of Trump's Michigan Republican allies, state House Speaker Matt Hall and U.S. Senate hopeful Mike Rogers, have argued the U.S. could get a better deal, suggesting the U.S. should get a share of the toll revenue.

Lutnick, former CEO of the global investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, intervened in a bid to negotiate a larger share of the bridge's toll revenue for the U.S., Bloomberg News reported on June 26, citing people familiar with the matter.

“Secretary Lutnick is committed to securing the best possible deal for America on the Gordie Howe International Bridge,” Commerce Department spokesman Benno Kass told Bloomberg in a statement that did not elaborate on Lutnick’s position.

Rogers told The Detroit News that the Trump administration should demand the Canadians jack up a tariff on Chinese-made vehicles as part of a deal to open the Gordie Howe bridge.

What are the financial implications for the bridge remaining closed?

Canada financed the Gordie Howe International Bridge through a public-private partnership that is managed by an international consortium of infrastructure companies called Bridging North America.

Bridging North America, or BNA, agreed to a concession contract with the WDBA to design and build and then maintain the bridge over a 30-year period.

S&P Global Ratings on June 29 upgraded BNA's bond rating from BBB- to BBB after the substantial completion of the bridge on June 9, two days before the ribbon-cutting ceremony was scuttled. The Wall Street ratings analysts expressed optimism that BNA's credit risk is slightly lower than the construction phase of the project because the bridge is ready to be operational and collecting tolls.

During the 30-year maintenance period, BNA "receives monthly availability payments to cover debt service and operations and maintenance (O&M), major maintenance and rehabilitation work, and an equity return," according to S&P Global Ratings.

But S&P analysts also cautioned they could lower BNA's credit rating if "unfavorable political events affect revenues should WDBA be unable or unwilling to make timely availability payments."

"It is unlikely that revenues will increase beyond our forecast except to offset cost inflation," the rating agency's analysts added.

While the bridge is not operating, Canada is not collecting tolls intended to pay BNA to service the bridge's debt and operating costs.

Under a 2012 deal struck by then-Gov. Rick Snyder, Michigan and Canada have joint ownership of the new bridge, but Michigan doesn't get 50% of the toll revenues until after Canada's debt is paid off. Michigan taxpayers contributed nothing to the project.

“The only party that benefits from the bridge being closed is the Morouns. Period," Snyder told The News on June 16.

What are other politicians saying?

While Hall has cheered the Gordie Howe remaining closed and Rogers has vowed to get the bridge open should Michigan voters send him to the Senate, some Democrats are starting to rail against Trump and the Republicans for keeping the span closed to traffic.

Democrats are pointing to Moroun's $1 million donation to a Trump super PAC in January, about three weeks before meeting with Lutnick, which was reportedly followed hours later by Trump's public threat to keep the new bridge closed.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, a Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful, has a TV ad out where she's standing in Delray Park, with the Gordie Howe International Bridge in the background, and calls on Trump to "open this damn bridge."

McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, has been using the bridge as a campaign talking point.

"This is a symbol, right in the heart of Michigan, of the corruption of the Trump administration," McMorrow said on CNN last week. "... The Moroun family ... made a million-dollar donation to Trump's super PAC, they got a meeting with Howard Lutnick and then, all of the sudden, they finally found a guy to do their bidding in President Trump, who's now railing against this bridge."

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