A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Gordie Howe International Bridge is scheduled for Friday morning.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens says he has received his invitation and expects to attend, adding that he remains confident the ceremony and bridge opening plans will move forward as scheduled.
“Unless something crazy happens in Trump land where, you know, there’s wildfire smoke and he sees he could leverage this again, who knows. But I think by all accounts this is going to move forward,” Dilkens said.
“There’ll be a ribbon cutting on Friday, opening on Monday, and folks will be able to cross pedestrian wise in terms of bikes and walking on August 5.”
Former Windsor-West MP Brian Masse also expects to attend.
Masse was left off the original guest list for last month’s cancelled ceremony, but says supporters spoke up on his behalf.
“There was a lot of people that made some calls and suggestions. I think, I don’t know, it’s been nice to get that,” Masse said.
“The bottom line for me is that it’s part of being the whole celebrations of it. Until it opens up for the public though is where I’ll be really super happy is to be able to cross with everybody on the multi-use lanes.”
He says being invited to is meaningful because it recognizes the many people who helped bring the project to life over nearly three decades.
“It’s not about the event itself, it’s about the people that aren’t here anymore that were part of this process from the original public meeting back in 1998 at Marlborough Public School, to other people that can’t be there. I think of Ron Jones, for example, who was part of this process,” said Masse.
“It’s super exciting in the sense that we’ve got to get going on this bridge and get it opened up, and part of it will be a lot of the memories of people that are no longer with us that started us on this journey.”
Housing, Communities and Infrastructure Canada announced July 10 that Canada and Michigan agreed to open the Gordie Howe Bridge to traffic on July 27 with support from the U.S. government.
The Gordie Howe’s multi-use path is set to open to pedestrians and cyclists on August 5.