Builders of the 853m Gordie Howe International Bridge between the USA and Canada recently marked the joining of the deck.
Politicians and officials from both sides of the border have been celebrating, as have ironworkers, engineers and labourers.
Celebrating the joining of the deck of the Gordie Howe International Bridge between the USA and Canada. Credit: Gordie Howe International Bridge
Focus has now shifted from the deck to the surface, and the bridge will open in autumn 2025 (link opens in new tab). Crews are pouring the concrete on the approach spans, and in the autumn will start on the 50mm latex modified concrete road surface on the deck.
Also underway this summer is the fine tuning of the 216 stay cables, work on electrical systems and on drainage and fire suppression.
One of the final elements is a peregrine falcon nesting box that will be placed below the deck to encourage falcons to nest within sight of the Canadian shoreline.
The project, which is worth US$4.8 billion, is a public-private partnership between the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority and Bridging North America. The bridge is named after Gordie Howe, a Canadian professional ice hockey player with a career spanning five different decades, who was the inaugural recipient of the NHL lifetime Achievement Award.