Collaboration between nations has led to the construction of the multibillion Gordie Howe International Bridge, an iconic cable-stay structure connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

“Windsor-Detroit is the busiest commercial land crossing in North America,” says Mark Butler, Director of Communication with the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) in Windsor, a Canadian Crown corporation, owner of the bridge and ports of entry.

The new bridge will provide redundancy and direct access to highways on both sides of the border.

The $5.7 billion (Canadian) project, a public-private partnership (P3), also includes building Canadian and U.S. ports of entry and a new interchange with Interstate 75.

“A P3 frees up government of Canada financing,” Butler explains. “At the same time, it shares the risk, and it captures all of the best experience and best in practice and expertise the partners bring to the project.”

Bridging North America (BNA), a joint venture among Dragados Canada of Toronto, Fluor of Calgary, Canada, and AECOM of Toronto, received the 36-year design, build, finance, operate, and maintain contract in 2018. Six years are for construction and 30 for operations and maintenance. AECOM leads the design efforts. All of the partners have international experience.

“It’s a very complex project,” says Derek Wilson, Project Manager with BNA.

The teams are completely integrated, with members of each company working on all four aspects of the project. BNA has brought on local subcontractors and craft workers from area unions. The project has created 2,500 jobs. The partners have been successful in hiring, even with a busy Detroit construction market.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when Canada closed its border to the United States, BNA has tried to keep border crossings by workers to a minimum, letting Canadians work on that side of the river and U.S. residents on the United States side. Those that must cross have received special permission from Canada.

Building an international project has required cooperation between the countries and communities on both sides of the border.

“We are working collaboratively and having some incredible success getting the project off the ground,” Butler says. “This a massive undertaking and one of the largest infrastructure projects in North America.”

ACS Infrastructure of Coral Gables, Florida; Fluor; and AECOM will operate and maintain the bridge and the ports of entry. Michigan will operate and maintain the I-75 interchange.

Plans for the new bridge date back more than 20 years. The existing Ambassador Bridge is aging, trains can carry some goods through a tunnel, and a private barge service handles hazmat and oversized vehicles. More capacity was needed. The Ambassador Bridge will remain operational.

“The new bridge ensures the bilateral traffic from Canada and the United States continues and both countries can continue to prosper,” Butler says.

Former elected officials decided to name the bridge after a Detroit hockey player who was born in Canada.

“He is an example of how we have this trading relationship and how Canada is intertwined with the United States,” Butler explains. “Gordie Howe was an exceptional player, and he had endurance and finesse. That epitomizes what the bridge will be, durable and with real finesse.”

In keeping with the hockey theme, the two 240-yard tall towers will feature hockey-stick shapes.

BNA is building the six-lane, 123-foot-wide, about 1.5-mile long cable-stay bridge from each shore and will meet in the middle. The towers are supported by 85-foot-long drill shafts down to bed rock. The bridge includes a skid-resistant pedestrian path and will sit 138 feet above the river.

“It’s advantageous to keep your tower footings up on land,” Wilson says. “There is complexity with building a bridge in the water.”

Additionally, environmental permits stipulated the piers had to be on land, due to navigational issues and concerns about fish migration.

The project was designed in AutoCad and Civil 3D. BNA follows rigorous tolerances for controlling elevation and alignment to ensure no problems occur in the middle. The approximately half-mile long clear span will be the longest main span on any cable-stay bridge in North America.

The ports of entry will offer enhanced vehicle inspection areas and will be sized and shielded from their host communities with green space.

Construction of both ports of entry are under way. The team is aiming for LEED Silver certification for the buildings. Additionally, bridge lighting will be energy-efficient LED.

“We are doing everything we can to maintain that sustainability,” Butler says. “Sustainability is an important component of the project.”

The Canadian port of entry will have 24 inspection booths, 16 toll booths and more than 133,000 square feet in the building. The U.S. port of entry will have 36 inspection booths and 326,335 square feet in the building.

Both ports of entry required additional fill and preloading. Settlement should take six to nine months. The U.S. port of entry site was a former industrial area, with soil contamination. BNA regularly samples and tests the soil.

“We’re trying to keep the contaminated soil on site,” Wilson says. “We are trying to reuse all of the excavated material on site. Eventually, we will have material that will have to be hauled away.”

The U.S. port of entry has required raising the existing grade by 6 feet to 10 feet, necessitating the use of engineered fill surcharge and 105,000 wick drains. Surcharge material is being brought in from the I-75 excavations.

“The engineered fill is to preload the soil underneath the building,” Wilson says. “The wick drains release the water in the soil under the POE, which helps with settlement.”

Crews have demolished the former interchange with I-75 and are starting to rebuild and widen the highway. The improvements include four new road bridges, five new pedestrian bridges, widening 1.8 miles of I-75 and local road improvements.

Throughout all aspects of the project, BNA has focused on safety and developed a safety program, incorporating the partners’ existing safety programs. Everyone working on the project receives a full-day safety orientation.

“Every day we are diligent about safety,” Wilson says. “It’s a focus for us.”

Butler attributes the significant progress made on the project to “the expertise of BNA and the ability to work collaboratively together.”

The bridge, ports of entry and highway modifications are due for completion in 2024.

“We have made significant progress on this project,” Wilson says. “You can see movement on all four segments.”