properties on the U.S. side of the
project for the new international
bridge crossing between the two
countries, to be jointly owned by
Canada and Michigan, and paid for
entirely by Canada.
In 2018, under a P3 agreement,
Bridging North America (BNA)
Constructors Canada GP joint
venture (JV) won the $5.7 billion
fixed-price contract to design, build,
finance, operate and maintain the
publicly-owned facilities for 30
years. Comprising Aecon, Fluor
and ACS Infrastructure (the parent
company of constructors Dragados-
Canada and Dragados-USA), the JV
began construction that October
on the project’s four components:
the bridge itself, the Canadian
entry point and customs plazas, the
U.S. entry point and the Michigan
interchange linking the bridge to
Interstate 75.
Scheduled to open in late 2024 for
truck traffic, the 2.5-kilometre-long
Gordie Howe International Bridge,
named to honour the beloved Detroit
Redwing, one of hockey’s all-time
greats, will be among the five longest
bridges in North America, and built
to accommodate three Canadianbound
and three U.S.-bound lanes
for cars and commercial traffic, and
a dedicated multi-use path for pedestrians
and cyclists. The Windsor
port of entry will be the largest
along the Canada-U.S. border, and
the U.S. port of entry one of North
America’s largest.
North America’s longest
cable-stayed main span
Stringent environmental studies
on both sides influenced the location
of all four components of the
P3 project, says Mark Butler, BNA’s
director of communications. Most
importantly, environmental concerns
helped dictate the choice of
the cable-stayed design, he says,
since building the towers in the
water might have impacted boat
navigation, fish migration and water
quality, and only a suspension or
cable-stayed bridge could have been
built for such a long span. In fact, at
853 metres across the Detroit River,
the main span will be the longest
of any cable-stayed bridge in North
America. Further, at 227 metres, the
two bridge towers will rival the tallest
tower in Detroit’s downtown, the
GM Renaissance Center.
The two main towers, from
which the cables extend to support
the bridge deck, each rise from the
ground on two wishbone-shaped
footings, before ascending as spires.
Each of the tower footings require
six piles, three metres in diameter,
and three pairs of side span piers to
transfer main span loads from the
backstay cables to the ground. BNA
subcontracted GFL Infrastructure
for the foundation work on the
Canadian side. Malcolm Drilling was
the foundation subcontractor on the
U.S. side.
“The requirements for this project’s
longevity were a minimum
of 125 years, so every little bit of it
needed to undergo a massive amount
of scrutiny,” said Justin Beaveridge,
Dragados-Canada’s tower/foundations
engineer. “As part of the
contractual requirements, every
COVER STORY
CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
Drilled shafts work
on the Canadian
side of the Gordie
Howe International
Bridge project
GORDIE HOWE INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE PROJECT
8 Issue 4 2021 www.pilingcanada.ca
/www.pilingcanada.ca
