Gordie Howe Bridge (US-Canada)

[The Ghostbuster]

Google Maps has been updated: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.2862875,-83.0968331,3368m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDYxNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D.

[1995hoo]

MDOT has started placing signage for the bridge per this WXYZ-TV article (includes pic of sign).

https://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detroit/gordie-howe-international-bridge-sign-up-on-i-75-in-detroit

"Toll." How many people will be confused by that word?

 

[SSOWorld]

MDOT has started placing signage for the bridge per this WXYZ-TV article (includes pic of sign).

https://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detroit/gordie-howe-international-bridge-sign-up-on-i-75-in-detroit

"Toll." How many people will be confused by that word?

 

[Henry]

MDOT has started placing signage for the bridge per this WXYZ-TV article (includes pic of sign).

https://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detroit/gordie-howe-international-bridge-sign-up-on-i-75-in-detroit

At the end of the article, it says that the bridge will open very soon:

Officials have not yet set an official opening day for the bridge. In February, during the Annual Public Meeting, which was posted to YouTube, it was projected the bridge would open in September 2025.

[ElishaGOtis]

MDOT has started placing signage for the bridge per this WXYZ-TV article (includes pic of sign).

https://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detroit/gordie-howe-international-bridge-sign-up-on-i-75-in-detroit

"Toll." How many people will be confused by that word?

 

That's a fare argument 

[NWI_Irish96]

On our way back from Toronto this weekend, we saw a couple signs on ON 401 that had all three bridges listed, with the Howe Bridge listed as closed.

[wanderer2575]

Just as interesting is this new sign on nbd I-75, just past the exit for the Gordie Howe Bridge.  I'm guessing also all the existing "Bridge to Canada" signs will be replaced or patched:



So the big question is:  Does the Detroit International Bridge Co. throw a hissy hit and start the lawsuits flying because (1) the signs for the Gordie Howe will include "international" while the signs for the Ambassador won't, and (2) the Ambassador Gateway interchange bridges are developing some rust and starting to look a little shabby, which isn't fair with shiny new interchange bridges just down the road.

[cbeach40]

So the big question is:  Does the Detroit International Bridge Co. throw a hissy hit and start the lawsuits flying because (1) the signs for the Gordie Howe will include "international" while the signs for the Ambassador won't

No, and I can say that with certainty as I did the signs for the Ontario side and the Ambassador Bridge folks explicitly said they wanted Pont Ambassador Bridge. Which makes sense as unlike the GHIB they don't actually have "International" in their name.

As an aside, the GHIB could have insisted on including International on the Ontario side but opted to go with just Pont Gordie Howe Bridge for the sake of brevity. And I got the tunnel authority to go with Tunnel (Windsor-Detroit) as "Tunnel Windsor-Detroit Tunnel" looked really stupid.

[Joe The Dragon]

Just as interesting is this new sign on nbd I-75, just past the exit for the Gordie Howe Bridge.  I'm guessing also all the existing "Bridge to Canada" signs will be replaced or patched:



So the big question is:  Does the Detroit International Bridge Co. throw a hissy hit and start the lawsuits flying because (1) the signs for the Gordie Howe will include "international" while the signs for the Ambassador won't, and (2) the Ambassador Gateway interchange bridges are developing some rust and starting to look a little shabby, which isn't fair with shiny new interchange bridges just down the road.

and when they have post NO TRUCKS on the ambassador bridge?

[cbeach40]

and when they have post NO TRUCKS on the ambassador bridge?

Assuming this is not a facetious statement, there are no plans to restrict trucks from the Ambassador Bridge or its approach roads. That bridge will still serve truck traffic for which the GHIB is a less convenient route, and will offer additional capacity overall to get trucks across the border.

And on top of that the Ambassador Bridge owners also own a large trucking firm, so any such restriction will definitely not be coming from their end.

[Papa Emeritus]

The Windsor Star and Crain's Detroit Business are reporting that, although the bridge is still likely to be finished this fall, its opening could be pushed back to 2026 due to delays in completing the customs / port of entry buildings on both sides of the river.

https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/gordie-howe-bridge-opening-could-be-delayed-until-2026-report-warns

[The Ghostbuster]

I still have a little Candian money of my own from previous trips there with my mother and stepfather, including a $5 bill I found on the streets of Toronto in 1998 (I was 13 at the time). The rest of my Candian money is all coins.

[mgk920]

I still have a little Candian money of my own from previous trips there with my mother and stepfather, including a $5 bill I found on the streets of Toronto in 1998 (I was 13 at the time). The rest of my Candian money is all coins.

Current Canadian $5 notes are sheets of plastic.  Also, there has been a bit of inflation there in the past few years, the current exchange rates are (approx) C$ 1 = USA$ 0.72 / USA$ 1 = C$ 1.385.

Mike

[MikeTheActuary]

Current Canadian $5 notes are sheets of plastic.

All of the current Canadian notes are polymer, rather than paper.

The latest $10 note has the added novelty (to Americans, at least) of being printed vertically.  It is a beautiful note.

The new $20 note (supposedly coming in 2027 and featuring King Charles instead of Queen Elizabeth) will also be vertical.

[mgk920]

Current Canadian $5 notes are sheets of plastic.

All of the current Canadian notes are polymer, rather than paper.

The latest $10 note has the added novelty (to Americans, at least) of being printed vertically.  It is a beautiful note.

The new $20 note (supposedly coming in 2027 and featuring King Charles instead of Queen Elizabeth) will also be vertical.

I can hardly wait!

 

Mike

[vdeane]

Current Canadian $5 notes are sheets of plastic.

All of the current Canadian notes are polymer, rather than paper.

The latest $10 note has the added novelty (to Americans, at least) of being printed vertically.  It is a beautiful note.

The new $20 note (supposedly coming in 2027 and featuring King Charles instead of Queen Elizabeth) will also be vertical.

What is the point of printing it vertically?  And yes, it's a very novel concept.  I have never heard of currency being printed in such a way before.

[oscar]

The latest $10 note has the added novelty (to Americans, at least) of being printed vertically.  It is a beautiful note.

The new $20 note (supposedly coming in 2027 and featuring King Charles instead of Queen Elizabeth) will also be vertical.

What is the point of printing it vertically?

Easier for the visually impaired to distinguish the $10 (and, later, the $20) from other denominations?

OTOH, the non-vertical denominations will be $5, $50, and $100. So my guess on the rationale doesn't work well, unless the plan is to later move the $50 and $100 to vertical, too.

When I was in Canada this June, I used an ATM that gave me the options, for a $400 withdrawal, of getting 4 $100s, or mixes of $20s and $50s. Maybe with the polymer notes, there is less trouble spending larger bills in Canada than in the U.S.

[Scott5114]

MDOT has started placing signage for the bridge per this WXYZ-TV article (includes pic of sign).

https://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detroit/gordie-howe-international-bridge-sign-up-on-i-75-in-detroit

Of course, WXYZ couldn't have posted a photo of a thing that doesn't move, they had to post a video, so that they could make it mandatory to listen to an ad for a lawyer before the video mysteriously refuses to load.

[Henry]

So the big question is:  Does the Detroit International Bridge Co. throw a hissy hit and start the lawsuits flying because (1) the signs for the Gordie Howe will include "international" while the signs for the Ambassador won't

No, and I can say that with certainty as I did the signs for the Ontario side and the Ambassador Bridge folks explicitly said they wanted Pont Ambassador Bridge. Which makes sense as unlike the GHIB they don't actually have "International" in their name.

As an aside, the GHIB could have insisted on including International on the Ontario side but opted to go with just Pont Gordie Howe Bridge for the sake of brevity. And I got the tunnel authority to go with Tunnel (Windsor-Detroit) as "Tunnel Windsor-Detroit Tunnel" looked really stupid.

I used to take French in middle and high school, and I'm seeing some questionable labeling on that sign. With "pont" being the equivalent to the English "bridge", the literal translation would be "Bridge Ambassador Bridge" and "Bridge Gordie Howe Bridge", which is just as redundant and stupid as "Tunnel Windsor-Detroit Tunnel" is, as it's apparently the same in both languages as I found out by typing in Gooogle Translate.

[Scott5114]

I used to take French in middle and high school, and I'm seeing some questionable labeling on that sign. With "pont" being the equivalent to the English "bridge", the literal translation would be "Bridge Ambassador Bridge" and "Bridge Gordie Howe Bridge", which is just as redundant and stupid as "Tunnel Windsor-Detroit Tunnel" is, as it's apparently the same in both languages as I found out by typing in Gooogle Translate.

From what I've seen, it's a common Ontario signing convention to take advantage of French adjectives going after nouns and put the French noun first, the adjective in the middle, and the English noun last. (I think normally they put the nouns in smaller text, too, but cbeach might have had a reason to not follow that practice.) Takes up less space than writing out "Ambassador Bridge - Pont Ambassador" but still makes the sign bilingual.

Also, sort of rude to tell the sign designer their sign is stupid to their face, but that's between y'all two...

[mgk920]

Current Canadian $5 notes are sheets of plastic.

All of the current Canadian notes are polymer, rather than paper.

The latest $10 note has the added novelty (to Americans, at least) of being printed vertically.  It is a beautiful note.

The new $20 note (supposedly coming in 2027 and featuring King Charles instead of Queen Elizabeth) will also be vertical.

What is the point of printing it vertically?  And yes, it's a very novel concept.  I have never heard of currency being printed in such a way before.

IIRC, several Swiss Franc notes are also oriented vertically.  I'm guessing that they wanted to be a bit fancy and 'different'.

Mike

[Scott5114]

Current Canadian $5 notes are sheets of plastic.

All of the current Canadian notes are polymer, rather than paper.

The latest $10 note has the added novelty (to Americans, at least) of being printed vertically.  It is a beautiful note.

The new $20 note (supposedly coming in 2027 and featuring King Charles instead of Queen Elizabeth) will also be vertical.

What is the point of printing it vertically?  And yes, it's a very novel concept.  I have never heard of currency being printed in such a way before.

IIRC, several Swiss Franc notes are also oriented vertically.  I'm guessing that they wanted to be a bit fancy and 'different'.

The idea is that when you pay for something, you normally hand the bills to the cashier short edge first, and bills are normally stored in a register short edge first, so it makes more sense to have the bills printed in that direction. (I don't necessarily agree, because I keep my bills in a wallet oriented horizontally, so it's easier for me to read them when they're printed that way, as they are in the US.)

[LilianaUwU]

The new $20 note (supposedly coming in 2027 and featuring King Charles instead of Queen Elizabeth)

It really should be a Native figure or anyone but a foreign leader.

[CtrlAltDel]

I used to take French in middle and high school, and I'm seeing some questionable labeling on that sign. With "pont" being the equivalent to the English "bridge", the literal translation would be "Bridge Ambassador Bridge" and "Bridge Gordie Howe Bridge", which is just as redundant and stupid as "Tunnel Windsor-Detroit Tunnel" is, as it's apparently the same in both languages as I found out by typing in Gooogle Translate.

From what I've seen, it's a common Ontario signing convention to take advantage of French adjectives going after nouns and put the French noun first, the adjective in the middle, and the English noun last.

I always thought it was clever to do it that way. It happens also on street signs in bilingual areas, such as Brussels:

[LilianaUwU]

I used to take French in middle and high school, and I'm seeing some questionable labeling on that sign. With "pont" being the equivalent to the English "bridge", the literal translation would be "Bridge Ambassador Bridge" and "Bridge Gordie Howe Bridge", which is just as redundant and stupid as "Tunnel Windsor-Detroit Tunnel" is, as it's apparently the same in both languages as I found out by typing in Gooogle Translate.

This is proper, as French puts the qualifier before, not after, the name, with the exception of numbered streets. This is why things like "Av. Atwater Ave." on A-15/A-20 exist.

Avenue Atwater Avenue, A-15 SB/A-20 EB, sortie 61 by Liliana Vess, on Flickr