Ambassador Bridge protest drags on, trucks back up at alternate border crossing

The protest blocking traffic at the busiest commercial crossing between the U.S. and Canada, the Ambassador Bridge, entered its third day on Wednesday as trucks waited for hours to get across an alternate border, while others detoured hundreds of miles.

The bridge, which links Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, remained closed as several dozen vehicles, including some trucks, continued to block an access road from the Canadian side. At the nearby Blue Water Bridge, trucks faced delays of over four hours to cross from Port Huron, Michigan, to Sarnia, Ontario. 

Ontario-based trucker Randy James Ulch said he was originally slated to cross the Canadian border via the Ambassador Bridge with his load of frozen chicken from Alabama. His carrier then redirected him to the Blue Water Bridge before changing to the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, New York.

“Now I’m driving five hours out of my way just to deliver this load,” Ulch said. 

The protest has thrown a giant wrench into U.S-Canada freight since the Ambassador Bridge accounts for about 20% of the truck traffic that moves between the two countries. 

The blockade is part of a wave of protests against COVID-19 vaccine mandates at the border as well as other public health measures in response to the pandemic. 

The largest protest has been in Ottawa, where hundreds of trucks have remained for more than a week as part of the Freedom Convoy. Another protest in Coutts, Alberta, also has been disrupting border traffic for over a week. 

The Ambassador Bridge protest, however, is causing the largest disruption to the supply chain. 

“This is really a serious cause for concern,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said during a news conference Tuesday.

So far, police in Windsor have been sticking to negotiations with the protesters. 

“We want to reassure the public that we continue to actively engage with and monitor these demonstrations,” Windsor Police Chief Pam Mizuno said in a statement. “We will maintain the peace and public/traffic safety.”  

Watch now: What is actually happening with the Freedom Convoy?

Read more

• Canadian protesters continue to disrupt commercial traffic at Ambassador Bridge
• Canadian trucking greets US border vaccine mandate with trepidation — and shrugs
• OOIDA: Exempt cross-border truckers from vaccine mandate

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Source: https://www.freightwaves.com/news
Editor: Nate Tabak