Gordie Howe International Bridge

The Gordie Howe International Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge being constructed across the Detroit River between Interstate 75 in Detroit, Michigan, and Highway 401 in Windsor, Ontario.

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The Gordie Howe International Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge being constructed across the Detroit River between Interstate 75 in Detroit, Michigan, and Highway 401 in Windsor, Ontario. The bridge is named after Canadian ice hockey player Gordie Howe, whose celebrated career included 25 years with the Detroit Red Wings, and who died two years before construction began.

History

Since the American Civil War, the route across the Detroit River between the United States and Canada has been a crucial transportation link. Ferries initially facilitated the transport of freight and people across the river. ¹ In July 1910, the Michigan Central Railroad opened a railway tunnel, followed by the Ambassador Bridge for vehicles in November 1929 and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel in 1930. ²

By the early 21st century, the Ambassador Bridge had become the most heavily trafficked crossing on the United States-Canada border. ^{3 4} Nearly a quarter of all truck crossings between the two countries used the bridge. ^{4 5} However, the privately owned crossing was also considered a monopoly as trucks were prohibited from using the tunnel. ^{6 7} The bridge also had a poor maintenance record.

Detroit River International Crossing

In the early 2000s, a bi-national partnership comprising the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Transport Canada, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) began exploring the need for a future crossing of the Detroit River. ⁸ This project was known as the Detroit River International Crossing and the New International Trade Crossing.

In 2004, the FHWA and Transport Canada jointly announced the construction of a new border crossing between Detroit and Windsor. ^{8 9} A binational committee was formed to oversee the project. An extension of Ontario Highway 401 to the proposed bridge was also planned, with construction beginning in 2011. ¹² The Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway was completed in November 2015 for $1.4 billion. ^{10 13 14}

The Highway 401 extension includes a below-grade section with six through lanes, seven bridges, and two cut-and-cover tunnels. To offset construction impacts, Transport Canada created 300 acres of green space and 12 miles of recreational trails.

In 2009, the United States and Canada granted environmental approvals for the project. ^{8 11} That same year, the Ohio Senate passed a non-binding resolution supporting the Detroit River International Crossing, urging Michigan to pass a similar measure due to Canada’s status as Ohio’s largest foreign trade partner, with $35.8 billion per year in goods traded between them. ¹⁵ By 2011, it was estimated that the bridge could be completed by 2016 ¹⁶ and generate $70.4 million in toll revenue in its first year. ¹⁷

The Michigan Senate had not approved legislation for the bridge by 2010, stating it would wait for revenue forecasts from MDOT before voting. The Michigan House of Representatives had already approved the measure. Despite this, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder supported the bridge’s construction, planning to use Canadian funds to receive a 160% match from the FHWA, amounting to $2.2 billion, in a deal struck the week before his first State of the State address in January 2011. ¹⁸ Nonetheless, the Michigan Senate rejected a bill in October 2010 that would have allowed the state to accept $550 million from Canada to fund the bridge. ^{16 19}

In June 2012, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder announced an agreement that allowed the project to proceed. ²⁰ Canada would finance the construction of the bridge, acquire land in Michigan, and build on-ramps to Interstate 75. The Canadian contribution would be repaid through tolls collected on the Canadian side, with no tolls charged on the American side. ²¹ The agreement also included community benefits for residents on both sides of the Detroit River, such as improvements to local neighborhoods impacted by the bridge’s construction. ²²

Opposition

The most vocal opposition to the new bridge proposal came from American billionaire Manuel “Matty” Moroun, who owned the Ambassador Bridge across the Detroit River between the United States and Canada. He sued the governments of Canada and Michigan to halt the development of the Detroit River International Crossing. Moroun proposed building a second bridge adjacent to his Ambassador Bridge, which he would have owned. ²³ Critics believe his opposition stemmed from the potential loss of profits from duty-free gasoline sales, which are exempt from about 60¢ per gallon in taxes, while the pump price to consumers is only slightly lower. ²⁴

In July 2011, the Canadian Transit Company, representing Moroun’s interests on the Canadian side of the Ambassador Bridge, ²⁵ launched advertisements against the DRIC proposal, calling it a “$2.2 billion road to nowhere.” ²⁶ In 2012, Moroun spent over $30 million to promote a proposed amendment to the Michigan Constitution. If passed, it would have required the approval of both Detroit voters and Michigan voters statewide to build the bridge. ²⁷ The ballot proposal was defeated by a 60% to 40% margin, clearing the way for the project to proceed. ²⁸

Moroun filed several lawsuits alleging that approvals granted in 2013 were illegal ²⁹ and claimed his company had exclusive rights to a bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor. ³⁰ In 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear Moroun’s challenge regarding the bridge’s location. ³¹ By June 2016, the last of Moroun’s lawsuits was dismissed, allowing the project to move forward once again. ²⁹

In 2018, the company ran television ads on Fox & Friends urging President Donald Trump to cancel the bridge project. ³² Despite this, in late 2019, Trump signed the first federal funding for customs and border protection for the bridge into law. ³³ The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled against Moroun’s attempt to halt expropriations on the Michigan side of the river, enabling bridge construction to begin in May 2018. ³⁵ Further attempts by Moroun to block construction were dismissed in June 2020. ³⁴

In July 2020, Matty Moroun died at the age of 93, with his family retaining ownership of the Ambassador Bridge. ³⁶ In 2022, the Detroit Free Press reported that Moroun’s family was preparing a case for damages due to the acquisition of properties by eminent domain for bridge construction. ³⁷

Approvals

On April 12, 2013, the United States Department of State granted Michigan the permit needed to build the Detroit River International Crossing, allowing construction to proceed once all details were finalized. ^{38 39 40}

In May 2014, the United States Coast Guard issued a bridge permit, the final federal approval required. ⁴¹ In July of the same year, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA), a Canadian federal Crown corporation, began coordinating the bridge’s construction and management. ^{41 42}

In January 2015, Parsons Corporation was appointed as the general engineering consultant for the bridge. ⁴³ On February 18, Transport Canada announced it would fund the construction of a customs plaza on the American side of the bridge in Detroit’s Delray neighborhood at a cost of $250 million. The United States Department of Homeland Security will invest $150 million in the first year and provide an ongoing annual requirement of $50 million to cover the plaza’s operational and staffing costs. ^{44 45}

During a May 14 event attended by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, it was revealed that the bridge would be named the Gordie Howe International Bridge after Canadian ice hockey player Gordie Howe, who played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 years. ⁴⁶

In July 2015, WDBA began the process of selecting a consortium to design, build, and finance the bridge’s construction, as well as operate and maintain it over a 30-year period. ⁴¹ Meanwhile, the cost of building the bridge increased by $3.5 billion Canadian dollars due to the declining value of the Canadian dollar. By January 2016, it was estimated that costs could rise to $4.8 billion Canadian dollars because of exchange rates and inflation. ⁴⁷

Land Acquisition

On May 22, 2013, the Canadian government allocated $25 million to initiate land acquisition on the Detroit side of the river. ⁴³

Delays arose in securing land for the bridge approach and customs plaza due to resistance from private landowners, including Moroun, who were unwilling to sell. ⁴⁸ As of July 2016, about 30 out of 900 properties remained unresolved. ^{49 50}

In June 2017, the City of Detroit sold 36 city-owned parcels of land, underground assets, and five miles of city-owned streets in the Delray neighborhood for a United States Customs facility. ⁵¹ A $33 million neighborhood improvement fund was established to help area residents either stay and renovate their homes or relocate to a renovated home in a different neighborhood.

In May 2018, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled against Moroun’s attempt to halt expropriations on the Michigan side of the river, clearing the way for construction of the U.S. plaza to begin. ⁵²

On July 5, 2018, the WDBA announced that the consortium Bridging North America had been chosen to build the bridge under a design, build, finance, operate, and maintain model. ⁵³ The consortium includes AECOM for design; Dragados Canada, Fluor Corporation, and Aecon for construction; and ACS Infrastructure, Fluor, and Aecon for operations and maintenance. ^{54 55} After construction, Bridging North America will receive monthly payments for operating and maintaining the bridge over 30 years. ⁵⁶

Design

The cable-stayed bridge was designed by AECOM’s chief bridge architect, Erik Behrens. ^{57 58} Each of its two A-shaped bridge towers stands 722 feet tall with 216 cable stays radiating downward to support a six-lane roadway deck with a bicycle and walking path. ⁵⁹ The main span of the bridge, at 2,800 feet, will be the longest of any cable-stayed bridge in North America, with a total length of 1.6 miles. ⁶⁰ The roadway deck will be 151 feet above the Detroit River. ⁵⁹

On the Detroit side, the U.S. port of entry will cover 170 acres and include border inspection facilities and ramps connecting directly to Interstate 75. ^{61 62} On the Windsor side, the Canadian port of entry will cover 130 acres and include border inspection facilities and ramps linking to Ontario Highway 401. ⁶¹ The bicycle and walking path will connect to new and existing trails and bike lanes on both sides of the Detroit River. ⁶³

Construction

Construction on the Gordie Howe International Bridge began on July 17, marked by a groundbreaking ceremony attended by Canadian Minister of Infrastructure Amarjeet Sohi and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. ^{64 65} The bridge is projected to cost $3.8 billion Canadian dollars to build, ⁶⁶ with an overall contract of $5.7 billion with Bridging North America. ⁵⁶ The bridge is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2024. ⁶⁶

By 2019, preliminary work was in progress to clear contaminated land. ⁶⁷ An attempt by the Michigan Republican Party to stop the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) from spending money on the bridge, even though MDOT would later be reimbursed by Canada, was reversed, allowing the project to proceed. ⁶⁸

In 2020, the design of new pedestrian bridges over Interstate 75 was revealed, and foundation work for the river bridge towers began. ^{69 70} By January 2021, the foundation work for the bridge towers was finished, and construction of the 722-foot bridge towers was underway. ⁷¹ Construction also began on the Canadian port of entry in March. ⁸

By March 2022, the legs of the bridge on both sides of the Detroit River had been completed, and construction of the road deck was in progress. ^{8 72} By November, over 490 feet of the bridge towers had been completed, and in May 2023, the installation of cables to support the bridge deck began. ⁷³ By August, the bridge tower on the Detroit side reached its full height of 722 feet, while the Windsor tower was completed in December.

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Gallery

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Further Reading

• Pont International Gordie Howe International Bridge: Official website

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Details

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Sources

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