Gordie Howe International Bridge could redirect freight and spur regional warehousing, TMACOG director tells Toledo committee

Sandy Spank, executive director of the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments, told the Finance, Budget and Debt Committee that the Gordie Howe International Bridge is likely to shift freight routing and create opportunities for warehousing and related services in Northwest Ohio.

Spank spoke during the committee's regular meeting after the chair said she had asked her to present because the project “is going to be an economic engine that will benefit Toledo, Northwestern Ohio, and Southeastern Michigan.”

The bridge, Spank said, was designed with large customs and processing areas — about 167 acres on the U.S. side and more than 130 acres on the Canadian side — and separate lanes and inspection processing for commercial freight, passenger vehicles and people on foot or bicycle. "This is a game changer," she said, describing separate commercial lanes, a two-truck X‑ray inspection building and 36 main customs gates plus 26 secondary or specialty gates for hazardous materials, livestock and agricultural inspections.

Why it matters: Spank emphasized that current border capacity is concentrated at the privately owned Ambassador Bridge, where…