Construction of Gordie Howe bridge remains on schedule
Officials from the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) and Bridging North America (BNA) provided an update on construction progress on the Gordie Howe International Bridge, and offered a list of the first recipients of the project’s community benefits program on June 10.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly every construction site in Ontario to some degree, work on the bridge project in both Ontario and Michigan was allowed to continue uninterrupted—as an essential service. The bridge is scheduled to open in 2024 and remains on target for that completion date.
“It’s been almost three months dealing with COVID-19 and we are working to understand the impacts and how can we mitigate those impacts,” said Bryce Phillips, CEO of bridge owners WDBA. “The reason why we are still showing the end of 2024 is because that is still four years away and there is still a lot of opportunity over the next four years to mitigate against what’s happened with COVID-19.”
Health and safety measures have been significantly enhanced since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. BNA, which is the construction consortium, has implemented a number of safety protocols, including physical distancing, the use of masks, worker screening, and suspending cross-border travel among workers.
“There have been spot checks by the Ministry of Labour a number of times and they always come out two thumbs up dealing with the safety protocols,” said Phillips. “There is a lot of stuff being learned by a lot of people, but [BNA CEO Aaron Epstein] and his team deserve a lot of credit to ensure construction proceeds safely for all those involved.”
Construction is underway on four project components: the bridge, the Canadian and US ports of entry (POE) and the Interstate 75 interchange in Michigan. When complete, the $5.7-billion project will include a six-lane cabled-stayed bridge, customs plazas on both sides of the border and new three-kilometre feeder road to link with Interstate 75 in Detroit.
On the Canadian side of the project, site preparation work is all but complete, and the focus is now on installing the bridge footings.
Construction crews built a four-kilometre access road around the Canadian POE, installed, tested and energized Hydro One transmission line cables, installed 103,000 wick drains to consolidate soils, and placed 650,000 metric tonnes of permanent grade raise and surcharge.
Site works planned on the Canadian side of the project for the remainder of the year include footing mock-ups for a second concrete pour, footing construction, footing and columns side span works, drill shafts side span works, and climbing system mock-up.
The footings, said Epstein, “will be seen above ground later this year.”
Community funding recipients announced
In addition to the update on construction progress, WBDA announced nine projects—six in Windsor and three in Detroit—that would share in $100,000 in funding through the projects’ community benefits plan.
The Canadian groups include:
- Sandwich First Baptist Church: $20,000
- Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Windsor Essex Central Council: $11,000
- Friends of the Court: $8,000)
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Windsor Essex: $4,500
- Essex Region Conservation Authority: $4,100
- Les Amis Duff-Bâby: $2,400
“The Gordie Howe International Bridge project will create jobs and economic opportunities for the Windsor-Detroit region,” said Phillips. “Beyond that, the project team is working closely with our neighbouring community members, involving them in the project and delivering meaningful benefits that will positively impact their quality of life.”
The funds will be used to support events, programming and infrastructure improvements that will benefit the communities.