Trudeau, Snyder mark work start on Detroit-Windsor bridge

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, second from left, and Michigan Gov Rick Snyder, center, pose with construction apprenticeship students Friday, Oct. 5, 2018, in Windsor, Ontario, where they announced that the Gordie Howe Bridge, a multibillion-dollar construction project to build a link between Detroit and Windsor, is officially underway. (Troy Shantz/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder during an event celebrating the start of construction on a bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit.

The work began Friday in Windsor on the Gordie Howe International Bridge. The Canadian-financed span over the Detroit River is expected to open in 2024.

The six-lane, cable-stayed bridge is expected to provide direct connections to highway networks in both cities. The corridor is the busiest commercial land crossing on the U.S.-Canada border, handling more than 30 percent of truck-hauled trade.

The privately owned Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel are the only current commuter crossings between the cities.

A groundbreaking ceremony for advance construction was held this summer in Detroit. The bridge is named after the late hockey legend.