By Eric Freedman
The iconic Blue Water Bridge has received a clean bill of operational health from the Michigan Auditor General’s Office.
Based on its preliminary survey of procurement, fleet vehicles, employee training and toll transactions, the office said it saw no need to do a full performance audit of the bridge’s effectiveness and efficiency.
The 1.2-mile bridge, which opened in 1938, crosses the St. Clair River between Port Huron, Michigan, and Port Edward, Ontario, at the southern end of Lake Huron. It’s “one of the fastest links between the Midwest and Ontario, as well as the Northeast United States,” according to the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).
There were almost 4 million bridge crossings last year.
The bridge collected $67.8 million in toll, duty-free and lease revenue between October 2022 and April 2025, the Auditor General’s August report to MDOT and the State Transportation Commission said.
The Auditor General’s office is a nonpartisan watchdog and investigative arm of the Legislature. Its duties include evaluating how well state agencies and programs carry out their responsibilities.
Its new report said auditors examined 84 toll transactions and found all were recorded accurately. They also determined that all the maintenance was done in a timely fashion under 17 work orders, all bridge personnel had completed required training and the procurement of 143 purchases appeared reasonable.
MDOT is currently working on a $36.3 million plaza expansion. It is expected to be substantially completed this year, with noise walls to be completed next spring or early summer.
Caitlyn French, MDOT’s Bay Region communications representative, said, “This recent audit shows that we continue to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and resources.”
“This is just a snapshot of how our team works with a high level of professionalism and attention to detail daily to keep the Blue Water Bridge operating as a crucial crossing for trade and commerce between the U.S. and Canada,” French said.
The Blue Water Bridge is the largest generator of toll revenue to the state, taking in $26.4 million in revenue last year. The report placed the Mackinac Bridge in second place with $24 million in revenue, trailed by the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge linking Ontario with Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula, which took in $6.3 million.
Revenue figures for the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, are unavailable because it’s privately owned, the report said, but it recorded 1.1 million crossings last year.
Nationally, the Blue Water Bridge ranked second in U.S.-Canadian cross-border revenue last year, behind the Peace Bridge connecting Buffalo, New York, with Fort Erie, Ontario.