The bridge was cleared of protesters by Canadian authorities on Sunday and is expected to resume normal activities.
White House Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall said in a statement: “Canadian authorities intend to reopen the Ambassador Bridge today after completing necessary safety checks. We stand ready to support our Canadian partners wherever useful in order to ensure the restoration of the normal free flow of commerce can resume.”
A caravan had been blocking the route since Monday, reportedly costing the United States and Canada hundreds of millions of dollars in lost commerce. The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest international border crossing in North America, and facilitates roughly a quarter of all merchandise trade between the two countries.
On Friday, a Canadian judge issued an order to break up the blockage but protesters refused to depart. By Saturday, the number of protesters had dwindled, and on Sunday police cleared the bridge of all remaining people.
The so-called Freedom Convoy was said to have been spurred by a mandate from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau requiring unvaccinated Canadian truckers crossing the border to quarantine upon their return.
The mandate saw a coalition that claimed to be primarily of disgruntled truckers, but included assistance from conservative groups, who helped to organize the event.
Canadians, and Canadian truckers, are statistically heavily pro-vaccine, with 80% of adult Canadians fully vaccinated. The Canadian Trucking Alliance estimates that of the estimated 120,000 truckers who work cross-border routes, 85% to 90% are vaccinated.
The high visibility of the protests has led to me-too events in France and New Zealand, as well as a proposed protest at Sunday’s Super Bowl football game in Los Angeles, California.
The United States and Canadian governments have had discussions over how to prevent future blockade events aimed at suffocating crucial international trade routes.