Ambassador Bridge

01 / The story of this place

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When the Ambassador Bridge opened in November 1929, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, a striking piece of engineering thrown across the Detroit River to connect Detroit's Southwest side with Windsor, Ontario. Unlike almost every other major international crossing, it has always been privately owned rather than run by a government agency. In 1979, trucking magnate Manuel Moroun, known to Detroiters as Matty Moroun, bought a controlling stake in the Detroit International Bridge Company, the bridge's owner, and spent the following four decades fighting off government efforts to build a second, publicly owned crossing nearby. Moroun died in 2020, and his family, through son Matthew Moroun, still owns and operates the bridge today. It remains one of the busiest commercial border crossings in North America, even after the publicly built Gordie Howe International Bridge opened downstream in 2025.

1. Opened in 1929 as the world's longest suspension bridge
2. One of the only privately owned international border crossings in the world
3. Manuel Moroun bought a controlling stake in 1979
4. Still owned by the Moroun family today