A who’s who of Canadian politicians gathered in Windsor, Ontario early Thursday morning to unveil the company that will oversee the construction, operation and upkeep of the Gordie Howe International Bridge in the years to come.
While financial details are not expected to be released until late September, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) announced that Bridging North America has been chosen as the private partner to complete the newest international crossing between the United States and Canada.
“This is history in the making,” said Dwight Duncan, the chairperson who made the announcement. “Construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge will begin later this month. I’m proud to share this moment with you and look forward to bridging these two countries.”
A surprise announcement followed the unveiling of Bridging North America’s selection for the job — the team working on the bridge announced that the Gordie Howe International bridge will be the longest cable-stay bridge in all of North America.
A conceptual image was released that boasts towers that are said to rival the height of the GM Renaissance Center. The bridge itself will span longer than 850 meters or roughly 2,800 feet.
That said, the bridge won’t come without challenges. Duncan noted during a question-and-answer segment with media that they’ve already had roughly 25 legal challenges to date.
“We’ve won every lawsuit, and I anticipate more,” said Duncan.
MDOT still has work to do on its end, according to an update at the unveiling roughly 95-percent of the parcels on the American side of the bridge have been purchased. To complete the port of entry project on the Michigan side of the bridge, more than 250 parcels had to be bought.
Asked whether the unfinished purchasing would cause any delays in construction, a spokesperson for the WDBA said that things are moving along at this time and pointed out that they’ve made great strides in the past few weeks, and that work would continue as soon as today to finish the remaining purchases that need to be made.
As for the project itself, additional details about the port of entries and the bridge came with Thursday’s announcement. Among the notable items: the bridge will include six lanes and a portion for bicycle/pedestrian traffic, the lifespan for the bridge is estimated at 125 years, and the port of entries will be among the largest for both the United States and Canada.
Construction work has already begun on the Canadian side of the border — that work included raising the level of the construction site, and bringing in specialists to move evasive species ahead of construction.
Advanced work is expected to start in Michigan this month.
Questions remain about how many local workers will be involved in the building of the bridge, however, multiple representatives of the companies involved said that local workers will be top of mind during construction. That being said, when asked whether a percentage of workers that are expected to be local or even a ballpark number could be produced, no number could be given.
We are expecting more details about the bridge as the day continues, including a view of the construction site for the bridge and the port of entry. Return to this web story later in the day for more details as we obtain them.
