WINDSOR, Ont. — As Brian McMahon talks about transformative projects in the region, he looks to the north and the $5.7 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge under construction.
“It’s amazing to me,” Mr. McMahon, owner/broker of Danberry National Ltd., a commercial real estate firm in Perrysburg, said of the bridge with an opening projected for late 2024. “Even people who should be in the know have little or no knowledge about the status of the construction of the bridge. They have no idea as far along as it is.
“I think as people learn more about this bridge, they’re going to have a better appreciation that northwest Ohio is probably as well positioned as any community in proximity to that bridge to benefit from the bridge,” Mr. McMahon added. “That’s because we have the logistics assets here that will allow people to get products in and out of the market that’s using the bridge.”
Construction began in 2018 on the international bridge that will connect the city of Detroit with Windsor, Ont.
“We’re making really great progress on all four components of the project,” said Heather Grondin, vice president of corporate affairs and external relations with the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority. “That’s the bridge over at the Detroit River, the U.S. port of entry, the connection into I-75, and then the Canadian port of entry.”
By far, the most visually impactful aspect of the project is the bridge as construction crews continue to work through the winter months.
The Howe bridge will join the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel in linking Canada and the United States at the Detroit River.
The bridge project is about providing additional crossing options through the Windsor-Detroit trade corridor, Ms. Grondin said.
“The Windsor-Detroit corridor is the busiest commercial land border crossing between our two countries,” she told reporters during an update last week.
Officials wanted to identify how to make this corridor as efficient and effective as it can be, she said. Through that process, what was identified was a need to address regional transportation points, she said.
“Looking at that, and those types of regional transportation improvements that needed to be developed and delivered upon, that’s what led to ultimately the Gordie Howe International Bridge project,” Ms. Grondin said.
The bridge authority describes the Howe project as “a once-in-a-generation undertaking.”
Crews are working simultaneously from both the American and Canadian sides.
“You can see, most recently, some very significant progress on our two towers,” Ms. Grondin said. “The Canadian tower is at about 560 feet, and the U.S. tower is just about 580 feet. So they’re very well on their way of hitting the full height, which will be about 722 feet.”
The plan
At 1.5 miles, the bridge linking Canada and the United States will open as the world’s 10th longest cable-stayed bridge and among the top five longest bridges in North America.
Key features of the Gordie Howe International Bridge include:
● Cable-stayed design
● Six lanes — three Canadian-bound, three U.S.-bound
● A length of 1.5 miles
● One approach bridge on each side of the crossing to connect ports of entry in Canada and the United States
● A dedicated multiuse path will accommodate pedestrians and cyclists
● 138 feet of space between the bridge deck and the Detroit River
In comparison in Toledo, the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway, the new I-280 bridge across the Maumee River, opened in June, 2007, at a cost of $237 million. That cable-stayed bridge features an iconic 403-foot central pylon. It was completed after more than a decade of planning and five years of building. It opened as the Ohio Department of Transportation’s biggest single construction project. The Veterans Glass City Skyway’s length including approach viaducts on either shore is 8,800 feet (about 1.67 miles), and the clearance over the Maumee River is 120 feet.
For the Howe bridge, the new Canadian Port of Entry will feature a 130-acre site and will be the largest Canadian port on the U.S.-Canadian border, the U.S. Department of Transportation reports. The U.S. Port of Entry will be developed on a 167-acre site and will be one of the largest border facilities in North America, the department said. Both sides will include features such as border inspection facilities and parking.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge is being constructed for a 125-year lifespan. “The U.S. tower currently is a little bit higher than the Canadian tower, but then the back span on the Canadian side is further along than the back span on the U.S. side,” Ms. Grondin said. “So, overall, it’s very equal in terms of progress.”
The bridge construction project is generating thousands of jobs.
“So when we started construction, since that point, since October of 2018, we’ve had over 7,600 people who have been oriented or trained to work on the project,” Ms. Grondin said.
“And I will note about, there has been a commitment that at least 20 percent of the people working on the project be from the local area, the local being Detroit on the U.S. side, and Windsor-Essex on the Canadian side,” she said. And the construction team has been able to meet a minimum of that 20 percent since that time period, which we’re very proud of.”
Though reports out of Canada are that the Howe bridge opening may not occur until the summer of 2025, Ms. Grondin said the bridge authority is working toward an opening date of the end of 2024, which is “in our contract.”
“It is important to note, though, that we’re always looking at the schedule, talking with our contractors about progress and how things are going, and of course, looking at and evaluating any possible impacts stemming from the pandemic,” she said. “Certainly, we didn’t plan for the pandemic when we set that schedule.”
“It is possible, but we have not made that change yet,” she said of 2025. “Our assessment is ongoing. We continue to look at those possible impacts on the schedule but haven’t made a final determination that would lead to a change in date.”
Hockey theme
Through the work of a design team, the bridge towers are shaped with a hockey-themed curvature for its namesake, the late hockey star Gordie Howe.
“One of their inspirations was Gordie Howe the namesake of the bridge, and the bridge towers have a curvature to them, which is inspired by a hockey stick in the midst of a slap shot,” Ms. Grondin said.
The design team members working for Bridging North America, the bridge authority’s private sector partner, had a couple of things in mind as they were working.
“First of all, this is going to be the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America, which is a very exciting aspect of the project,” Ms. Grondin said. “From an aesthetics perspective, we want to ensure that it’s aesthetically pleasing for people who are using the bridge itself, so people who are driving across the bridge. But also aesthetically pleasing for those who are seeing it from any distance.”
More than 230 local businesses, on both the Canadian and American sides of the crossing, are involved in the bridge project through goods and services. “We have immediate economic benefit right now during construction,” Ms. Grondin said, previewing what she described as including an easy connection to I-75 once the bridge is complete.
The bridge remains on budget as part of a fixed-price contract.
“We’re delivering this project as a public-private partnership, or a P3, and part of [that] is a fixed price contract,” Ms. Grondin said. “So our fixed price contract is $5.7 billion” Canadian dollars. The contract has two phases, a design and construction phase, and then a 30-year operations and maintenance phase.
On the road
Though the bridge is about an hour north of Toledo, the benefits it will bring to the region are real when it comes to businesses looking for a location to develop a new facility, a new business, and to capitalize on the amount of commerce that will go back and forth across that bridge, Mr. McMahon said.
“What happens is you come down I-75, there’s little or no land around the bridge on the U.S. side,” Mr. McMahon said.
Further south, Monroe offers utilities to support development, but it’s so close to Lake Erie that a lot of the land along the interstate is wetlands and some of it is contaminated, he said. “It’s primarily the result of older brownfield sites and a significant amount of wetlands because much of the frontage on either side of I-75 consists of wetlands given Monroe’s proximity to Lake Erie,” Mr. McMahon said in a follow-up email.
Moving south to Toledo along I-75, which provides the predominant amount of truck access, sizable land is not largely available since it is occupied, Mr. McMahon said.
“So you have to come south of the Maumee River to get any significant land,” he said. “And as it turns out, Wood County has thousands of acres of land, many of which is under contract right now to develop major warehousing and distribution facilities.”
That region is served by both the I-75 along with I-80/I-90, which are part of the Ohio Turnpike.
“You have the two of the longest interstates in North America, which is our trade partner, located in Wood County,” Mr. McMahon said. “And so there’s going to be a significant number of businesses that’ll want to locate along our interstate system to capitalize on the amount of commerce that’s going to be generated” by the Howe bridge.
“I’ve driven it a couple of times,” he said. “It’s less than an hour’s drive to the north of us.”
Growth opportunities
With Canada serving as Ohio’s top international trading partner, Mr. McMahon is not alone in his optimism about the bridge’s importance to the Toledo region.
“Given our connection to I-75, or the amount of frontage we have along I-75, the logistical opportunities are pretty solid for this region,” said Gary Thompson, executive vice president at the Regional Growth Partnership. “I think, long term, when companies understand how convenient it is, it’s going to create growth opportunities in northwest Ohio.”
The region offers land that is well positioned, he said. “Our proximity to the bridge as compared to other locations, even in Detroit, that might be landlocked or more difficult to get a site ready.”
“So whether it is manufacturing that needs to bring in Canadian suppliers, or manufacturing that needs to go to Canada, or warehousing and distribution and logistics operations, we think over the long haul that that bridge is going to create many opportunities,” he said.
The first benefit of the Howe bridge is making importing and exporting goods to and from Canada much easier, he said.
“And that’s going to benefit many companies in not only northwest Ohio, but in the Midwest,” said Mr. Thompson, whose primary area of responsibility is business development.
He noted Canada’s role as a longtime, very strong trading partner with Ohio.
“That involves auto parts and agricultural products as well as other aggregates and wood products that are just going to make things more convenient,” Mr. Thompson said.
Mr. Thompson said that although many products imported to and from Canada generally come by boat through the Port of Toledo, trucks also are used. “So I think that will be easier as well,” he said of the Howe bridge.
“I’m not saying we want to truck aggregate everywhere,” he said of products such as iron ore, rock salt, stone, and gravel. “But for certain materials, if there’s a just-in-time problem, the ease of getting a truck across the Gordie Howe Bridge may make some sense.”
As for Mr. McMahon, he has assembled a colorful, multipage PowerPoint-type presentation highlighting the bridge project and its many features and economic benefits. The information includes multiple project details from the consul general of Canada, a look at Ohio-Canada trade connections, and project maps and graphics that also preview a planned I-75 interchange.
“I think it would be helpful for people to learn more about the bridge because since we last talked about the bridge, there has been a significant amount of construction, and the bridge is much closer to opening,” he said.
The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority is sharing videos and photos of the work as the construction continues.
“I would encourage people to start thinking about the future of having this bridge in place and the opportunities that will bring to move traffic more quickly through this corridor and the benefits that this bridge can bring to Toledo,” Ms. Grondin said.
First Published February 5, 2023, 12:00 p.m.
