Windsor mayor proposes toll for truck traffic using the Ambassador Bridge

Truck traffic using Huron Church Road to and from the Ambassador Bridge may have to pay a new toll, if the province yields to urging from Windsor's mayor.

Drew Dilkens took to social media Wednesday afternoon, asking the province to grant Windsor an exemption to a provision of the province's Municipal Act that would allow the municipality to charge a toll on truck traffic.  

"Windsorites are good people living and working in a city that is the international gateway between Canada and the United States," Dilkens wrote on social media.

"But we are tired of shouldering the burden for fees and expenses that are not normally within the purview of most municipalities."

The move could start May 1, pending provincial approval, and would last until the Gordie Howe International Bridge is open, Dilkens said. 

Dilkens has recently spoken of a deterioration in the city's relationship with the owners of the Ambassador Bridge. His comments came after reports that the bridge owners lobbied the Trump administration before the U.S. president threatened to block the opening of the Gordie Howe. 

In a social media post in early February, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would not allow the bridge to open until the United States owns half and is "fully compensated."

Canada paid for the construction of the bridge, and the bridge is jointly owned by the Canadian federal government and the state of Michigan. 

After Trump made the threats on social media, reporting from the New York Times indicated the owner of the bridge, Matthew Moroun, had spoken with commerce secretary Howard Lutnick just hours beforehand, and that Lutnick then spoke with Trump. 

"The Gordie Howe International Bridge is now constructed and ready to open however, President Trump with the reported encouragement of the owner of the Ambassador Bridge has threatened to keep the Gordie Howe International Bridge closed," Dilkens said in his statement. 

Dilkens noted the cost of upkeep on the heavily utilized road, which is "in constant need of repair as a result of the daily bombardment of truck traffic using that road."

"The cost of upkeep and repairs falls directly on taxpayers in Windsor. This road is unique compared to other roads in Ontario," he said.

The city has for years negotiated with the bridge company on the many abandoned homes the company owns in west Windsor and Sandwich, purchased by the bridge company in preparation for a second span of the Ambassador Bridge that did not ultimately come to fruition.