Gordie Howe International Bridge Nears Completion With Opening Set for Later This Year

The Gordie Howe International Bridge will open this year. It took over ten years to build and the price tag was $4.5 billion. This 1.2-mile cable-stayed span links Detroit and Canada across the Detroit River.

Michael Griffie works as Detroit market leader for AECOM, a main infrastructure company working on this job. In a recent discussion with Jer Staes from Daily Detroit at the Detroit Policy Conference, Griffie described the build process. Teams from two nations pushed through a frozen supply chain and a pandemic that ground most work to a halt.

Those problems caused about a year's delay. Griffie said crews had to "meet in the middle" while wrestling with different rules between the United States and Canada.

The cable-stayed design shows off 770-foot pylons. These towers mirror Gordie Howe's stance on the ice. New ports of entry stand on both the U.S. and Canadian sides, plus a rebuilt I-75 interchange that keeps trucks rolling without cutting through neighborhoods. A path will let walkers and cyclists cross.

Toll booths will sit on just one side. The bridge should handle more trade once trucks start rolling across.