Protesters block U.S.-Canada Ambassador Bridge

Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Protesters disrupted traffic Tuesday in the Canadian city of Windsor, blocking the U.S. border crossing with Detroit, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.

The Ambassador Bridge, the busiest international border crossing in North America, remained closed for traffic late Tuesday headed into Canada, with the department telling drivers to use alternate crossings.

It marked the third straight day of traffic disruptions. An initial convoy of truckers opposed to cross-border vaccine mandates has morphed into a bigger protest of the government's COVID-19 restrictions. Many signs calling for an end to the mandates were visible.

Alternate border crossings include the Detroit-Windsor tunnel and the Blue Water Bridge that goes from Port Huron to Sarnia, Ontario. Commercial vehicles faced a 100-minute wait to cross the bridge into Canada as of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The Windsor Police Department said on Twitter, "Officers are working to restore the orderly flow of traffic in the safest manner possible."

There was no estimate for when traffic may reopen.

"The Ambassador Bridge is one of the most important border crossings in the world and it carries with it a significant portion of all trade between Canada and the United States. We will continue to work very closely to see that this blockade is disengaged so we can keep the supply chains moving across the Ambassador Bridge," said the Canadian minister of emergency preparedness, Marco Mendicino.

This comes one day after Ottawa declared a state of emergency because of the ongoing protests in the Canadian capital.