Win Mcnamee/Getty Images/Craig Rinzema/Shutterstock President Trump has a velociraptor-like attention span. He can't see you if you don't move. Officials on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border are seeking an opening day for the Gordie Howe International Bridge that won't draw the attention and ire of Donald Trump. The President previously threatened to block the bridge's opening unless the U.S. is "fully compensated for everything we have given [Canada]." However, the new $6.4 billion crossing between Detroit and Windsor was entirely funded by our northern neighbors. Nothing ever reaches the Resolute Desk these days without being filtered through Trump's circle of appointees. An unnamed source told CTV News that officials don't want to "trigger the kooks and crackpots." Trump tends to parrot talking points fed to him by his advisors, whether they are true or not. He practically admitted this last month when lying that Iran somehow acquired an American-made Tomahawk missile and attacked an Iranian all-girls school with it. The bridge was projected to open this spring, but officials aren't quite willing to publicly say when the bridge will be ready. Heather Grondin, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority's chief relations officer, said: "It's just the reality of building new technology and new built infrastructure. We have to make some adjustments that we need to retest or recalibrate, and across this whole system, that ranges from things like our tolling system, our traffic management center, the aesthetic lights that people are seeing on the bridge." Both sides need this bridge to open on time Bill Pugliano/Getty Images Neither Canada nor the United States can afford to have Trump block the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge. The existing Ambassador Bridge is the busiest bridge in North America. High tolls and congestion are pushing commercial truck trips 60 miles north to the Blue Water Bridge. Many sectors, especially the auto industry, would prefer a shorter supply chain into Ontario through Detroit. Recent economic analysis found that taxpayers and the bridge authority would lose $7 million per week if the opening is delayed. Despite Trump's disdain for Canada raking in all the upcoming tolls, the revenue will primarily be used to repay the cost of construction. Businesses are ready to start paying. The bridge authority announced that over 12,000 transponders have already been ordered. One trucker inadvertently got a head start last year. He took a wrong turn while heading to the Ambassador Bridge and headed onto the unfinished approach for the Gordie Howe Bridge. He thankfully didn't take a cold plunge into the Detroit River with his rig.
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