Gordie Howe Bridge: New Drone Footage & Updates

The Gordie Howe International Bridge is getting closer to completion. Towards the end of August, the tower on the U.S. side of the Detroit River reached its full height of 722 feet, making it the second tallest structure in Detroit. Currently, officials from the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority report that the tower on the Canadian side is making good progress.

Significant progress is also being made on the towers, with the bridge deck at approximately 50% completion. Recent drone footage shared by officials shows the developments on the Michigan interchange. Traffic is flowing on I-75, and the footage shows the construction of ramps leading to and from the U.S. port of entry.

Drone footage from the previous Friday displays substantial progress on the bridge deck, which extends about a quarter of the way across the river from each side.

According to the CBC, the Gordie Howe Bridge officials are maintaining their goal of opening the international crossing between Windsor and Detroit by late 2024.

With recent and upcoming achievements in the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) and Bridging North America (BNA) plan to show their appreciation to the community for their support and patience during the five years of construction. They will host two community appreciation breakfasts. The first event will take place on Saturday, October 21, 2023, at Clark Park in Detroit, and the second will be on Saturday, November 4, 2023, at the Sandwich Teen Action Group in Windsor. Both events will feature entertainment, family-friendly activities, and free breakfast for up to 500 participants.

"We are excited to share that the US tower has reached its final height and the Canadian tower is nearing completion," stated Charl van Niekerk, Chief Executive Officer, Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority. "These majestic towers have been the most visible and inspiring signs of progress, representing a major step forward in construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge."

There are some strange and peculiar roads around the world which can often make driving an... interesting experience. While many roads are bland, Michigan has some unique roads. And many of those roads have some interesting history.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, the oldest constructed roads discovered to date are in former Mesopotamia, now known as Iraq. These stone-paved streets date back to about 4000 B.C. in the Mesopotamia cities of Ur and Babylon.

Here in Amercia, the State Highway Department was created in 1905. In the early 1900s, lcoal leaders, including Horatio S. "Good Roads" Earle and Frank F. Rogers, saw a pressing need to get Michigan out of the mud.

Over time, they accomplished the first mile of concrete highway built, first painted centerline, first roadside park, and the first four-way red/yellow/green electric traffic light built on a solid foundation for a sustainable transportation system in Michigan. The demand for paved roads rose with the use of wheeled vehicles.

When it comes to Michigan’s roads and highways, there are many facts. Most Michiganders would find some of these quite surprising. The Michigan Department of Transportation has compiled a list of facts about the roads and highways in Michigan. With facts about Michigan’s first road map, first four lane road, and others. But which facts do some Michiganders not know about?

Here are 8 Michigan road facts you probably didn’t know about.

Currently, Michigan has one of the nation's shortest signed interstates. The shortest freeway in Michigan is only 1.1 miles long. Though not signed, New York has a  0.70 miles freeway, which is even smaller than Michigan's smallest.

The three-span US-12 camelback bridge in Mottville is Michigan's longest remaining bridge of this type. Constructed in 1922, these bridges are found primarily in Michigan and Ontario, Canada.

The towers on the Mackinac Bridge or “Mighty Mac” (552 feet high) are almost as tall as the Washington Monument (555 feet high). The Mackinac Bridge is currently the fifth longest suspension bridge in the world.

The first Michigan road map, with only three roads on it, was published by the United States Congress in 1826. As a matter of fact, the first surveyed road in Michigan was Pontiac Road (now called M-1 or Woodward Avenue) connecting Detroit and Pontiac in 1819.

M-185 on Mackinac Island is the only state highway in the nation where motor vehicles are banned. Motorized vehicles have been prohibited on Mackinac Island since 1896 because the horses were disturbed by the noisy engines of some of the island's first cars. Furthermore, carriage drivers formed an association, convincing islanders to ban automobiles.

The longest highway in Michigan is I-75, which runs 395 miles from the Ohio border to the International Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie. I-75 also passes through six different states. At its north end, it starts on the Canada/U.S. border at the top of Michigan at Sault Ste. Marie. Then it heads south to Naples in Florida, where it bends east and runs across to Miami.

MDOT says that there is enough pavement on Michigan roadways to build a one-lane road from the Earth to the moon. Michigan has a total of 120,256 miles of paved roadway. This includes 9,669 route miles of state trunkline, 89,444 route miles of county roads, and 21,198 route miles of city and village streets. However, according to NASA, the Moon us an average of 238,855 miles away from Earth.

Eight Michigan highways began as Native American trails, US-2 (from Sault Ste. Marie to Green Bay); I-75 (from Detroit to Saginaw), I-94 (from Detroit to St. Joseph; I-96 (from Detroit to Grand Rapids), I-94 (from Detroit to Port Huron), US-41 (from L'Anse to Marquette), and US-12 (from Ypsilanti to Chicago). Michigan's three largest tribes are the Ojibwe (also called Chippewa), the Odawa (also called Ottowa) and the Potawatomi (also called the Bode'wadmi). Michigan also federally recognizes these tribes and others in the state.