More signs to be added near Gordie Howe bridge after wrong-way driving on Highway 401
Written by The Canadian Press on October 15, 2026
Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation said it will add more signage near Gordie Howe International Bridge in Windsor, after provincial police said dozens of cars were seen driving the wrong way on the nearby stretch of Highway 401.
“We are working closely with the Ontario Provincial Police and the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority to add additional signage throughout the area to alert drivers of the border crossing,” Dakota Brasier, spokesperson for Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, said in a statement Thursday.
It comes after OPP urged drivers to pay closer attention to traffic signs when approaching the border crossing, saying there have been 64 incidents involving wrong-way drivers on the highway since the bridge opened in July.
“We believe it to be driver error,” OPP Const. Stephanie Caron said Thursday. “Missing the exit and then not wanting to continue through, believing that they will have to go through customs.”
Police said drivers who miss the exit before the bridge should not panic, make a U-turn or reverse down the highway to avoid getting on the new border crossing to the United States. Drivers can head toward the toll booths and staff there will let them out at a gate so they can avoid approaching border customs, OPP said.
Drivers who don’t want to enter the United States are asked to exit the highway at Ojibway Parkway, or Exit 1.
Police are warning that the consequence of driving the wrong way is “either a $110 ticket or a deadly crash.”
The Gordie Howe bridge saw more than 270,000 crossings in August, its first full month of operation, Statistics Canada data showed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2026.
Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press