[8][7] The bridge has been criticized for its monopoly status (as no trucks are permitted to use the tunnel), private ownership by billionaire Manuel Moroun and poor maintenance record.

His plan would leverage Canadian money to receive a 160 percent match—totaling $2.2 billion—on funding from the Federal Highway Administration in a deal reached the week previous to the speech.

[20] In August 2011, Michigan State Senator Mike Kowall, when asked by the Windsor Star if enabling legislation for the bridge would currently pass, replied "absolutely not".

[21] In October 2011, the Michigan Senate "rejected a bill [that] would have allowed the state to accept $550 million from the Canadian government to fund the country's share" of the bridge.

[17][22] One commentator, Bill Mann, noted the rejection, saying "Canada calls the new bridge its biggest infrastructure priority and has even offered to pay for the span.

Mann drew from a Maclean's article sub-titled "We used to be friends"[23] about U.S.–Canada relations after the Keystone Pipeline, the bridge, and other "insulting" decisions.

[24][25] In June 2012, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder announced an agreement allowing the project to proceed.

[28] On April 12, 2013, the Obama administration granted Michigan the permit required to build the bridge, allowing construction to go forward once details were finalized.

On February 18, 2015, Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt announced Canada would fund the construction of a customs plaza on the U.S. side of the bridge in Detroit's Delray neighborhood.

[36] In July 2015, WDBA began work procuring a consortium who would design, build and finance the construction of the bridge, as well as operate and maintain it over a 30 year period.

[12] The cost of building the Gordie Howe International Bridge escalated by CA$3.5 billion as the value of the Canadian dollar declined in 2015–2016.

[39][40] In July 2016, the CBC reported Dwight Duncan, the former finance minister for Ontario had advised the Government of Canada to consider buying the Ambassador Bridge from Moroun.

[41] In a joint statement released after a meeting between newly elected U.S. president Donald Trump and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on February 13, 2017, the two governments reiterated the support of the "expeditious completion" of the project.

[63][64] In October 2023, the WDBA explained that major construction would likely be completed by the end of 2024, with elements such as signs and lighting taking another six months to install.

[71] On the U.S side, the port of entry will encompass 68 hectares (170 acres) with border inspection facilities, directly connecting to Interstate 75 with dedicated highway ramps.

[75] With traffic crossing the border expected to grow from 18,500 vehicles a day in 2016 to 26,500 by 2025, the Gordie Howe International Bridge will provide an orderly flow of people and goods between the two countries.

[18] Transport Canada retained the engineering firms, Morrison Hershfield, Davis Langdon, and Delcan to develop cost estimates for right of way and utility relocation; design and construction; and operation and maintenance on the Canadian side of the crossing.

[79] An 3 m (9.8 ft) high sculpture of tree bark by Anishinaabe artist Michael Belmore recognizes and celebrates First Nations, which will be visible as traffic enters and leaves the Canadian Port of Entry.

Herb Gray Parkway that links to the bridge on the Canadian side was hampered by concerns it could affect Ontario's last known habitat of Butler's garter snakes.

[95] The multi-use path on the bridge will be the first legal pedestrian crossing of the Detroit River, connecting to local streets and trails on both of its sides.

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 have owned) instead.

[105] In early June 2011, the conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity posted bogus eviction notices on homes in Detroit's Delray district.

[106] Americans for Prosperity charged that the project would be a waste of taxpayer money if toll revenues did not cover debt service.

[111] MPP Dwight Duncan advised that he was investigating whether or not the ads violated Ontario's election laws, which disallow public spending by foreign lobbyists.

[112] NPR affiliate network Michigan Public aired a story on November 2, four days before the vote, which indicated the amendment's "seemingly neutral language masks a very specific—and bitter—political battle".

[115] In 2018, the company aired television ads on Fox & Friends asking President Donald Trump to cancel the project.

[121] In 2022, the Detroit Free Press reported that Moroun's family were preparing a case for damages, following the acquisition of properties by eminent domain for bridge construction.

Concerns were also acknowledged that the abbreviated name was too close to that of the Detroit International Bridge Company (DIBC)—that would be too sensitive given its objections to the project.

[123] Sometime afterward, the working name for the project became the New International Trade Crossing (NITC), garnering the endorsement of 139 organizations and individuals.

[31] In late 2010, David Bradley, president of the Ontario Trucking Association, proposed naming the bridge in honor of Canadian professional ice hockey player Gordie Howe, who played the bulk of his career for the Detroit Red Wings.