Infrastructure

Gordie Howe International Bridge to Open in 2025

The cost of the project is now $6.4 billion, up from $5.7 billion.

Updated on

April 27, 2024

Ongoing construction of Gordie Howe Bridge. PHOTO | COURTESY

The eagerly awaited opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, connecting Detroit and Canada over the Detroit River, has been pushed back once again.

The delay, which was announced in January, extended the project’s completion schedule by nearly a year, with the new opening date set for September 2025.

The news came alongside a major financial update disclosing that the cost of the project had been raised to $6.4 billion, from the previously estimated $5.7 billion.

Gordie Howe International Bridge, named in honour of the celebrated Canadian hockey player, was initially scheduled to open in November 2024. However, disruptions caused by Covid-19 necessitated a timeline revision.

Despite substantial progress made since the fall of 2018, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) and Bridging North America (BNA) stated that extending the project timeline was necessary to ensure its quality.

In 2022 and 2023, the project team advanced bridge and road deck construction, installed stay cables, and developed port of entry facilities.

This year, the public can expect the completion of the bridge deck connection over the Detroit River, the installation of the remaining stay cables, the completion of the POE agency buildings, and the pouring of concrete for the I-75 ramps.

Crucial link

The Gordie Howe Bridge will serve as a crucial transportation link between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, providing a vital alternative to existing routes, notably the Windsor Tunnel and the privately owned Ambassador Bridge.

Charl van Niekerk, CEO of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA), expressed confidence that, despite the setback, the project is still poised to improve cross-border connectivity and boost trade between the US and Canada.

“With safety as our top priority, we will continue to work together to deliver this much needed infrastructure to the thousands of eager travellers ready to cross North America’s longest cable-stayed bridge,” Niekerk said in a press release.

Designed as a cable-stayed structure, by chief bridge architect of AECOM, Erik Behrens, the Gordie Howe International Bridge, designed as a cable-stayed structure, promises to be an architectural marvel.

The bridge will have two A-shaped bridge towers standing 220 metres tall.

The road deck will be held up using 216 cable stays, boasting the longest main span in North America at 853 metres and a total length of 2.5 kilometres.

At the highest point above the Detroit River, Gordie Howe Bridge will stand 46 metres above the water. It will have six lanes for automotive traffic and dedicated lanes for cyclists and pedestrians.

Bridge naming

On May 14, 2015, the Prime Minister of Canada and the Governor of Michigan announced that the bridge would be named the Gordie Howe International Bridge in honour of the man, who led the Detroit Red Wings to four Stanley Cup victories.

Howe died two years before construction began on July 17, 2018.

Key events

In May 2023, the installation of cables to support the bridge deck began. By August 2023, the US bridge tower reached its final height of 220 metres, while the Canadian tower was completed in December 2023.

In October 2023, the WDBA said it expected major works to be done by the end of 2024, with additional work on elements like signage and lighting lasting 6 months.