WINDSOR, ON – Canada has issued the final permit needed for the Ambassador Bridge expansion project to continue.

Matthew Moroun, with the Detroit International Bridge company, says the permit allows the company to proceed with the investment in international infrastructure.

The new Ambassador Bridge will be the longest cable stayed bridge in North America, and will be constructed next to the current Ambassador Bridge, which has connected Canada and the United States since 1929.

The privately-funded, billion-dollar bridge will have six lanes, three in each direction, including NEXUS, FAST, and bus lanes. It will also have new and expanded Canada Border Service Agency commercial inspection facilities, including 12 additional commercial inspection booths.

Moroun says the project has faced challenges in getting to this point.

“We know there are those who never thought our permit would be approved,” he said. “Hopefully, now we can all come together and take pride in watching a new bridge rise across the shared border between our great nations.”

U.S. permits were received more than a year ago, in the spring of 2016.