'Lots of anticipation' as Gordie Howe bridge inches toward meeting in the middle

Field engineer Manuel Bello has been working on the Gordie Howe International Bridge for the last five years. Seeing the two sections of the bridge just weeks away from connecting in the middle is "amazing."

"It's what we worked for, right? So you see it now, every two weeks we get closer to the other side," Bello said, noting crews actually signed one of the beams making up the floor deck of the bridge. 

"There's a lot of anticipation and you see the colleagues on the U.S. side closer and closer every day."

Bridge officials said in a Tuesday update the two sides of the span are expected to meet over the Detroit River in June. There are just two main sections left to go, said Bridging North America CEO David Henderson: One on the American side, and the last piece that will bring them together. 

'Iconic landmark' on track to open next year

Seeing the two sides meet is generating "big buzz" in the community, but also among workers, Henderson said. 

"It'll be a a iconic landmark for our community from now on," he said. 

It also means a layer of security will be added for workers, Henderson added. 

"It will become an international crossing at that point," Henderson said. "They'll have to go through the security at our checkpoints with border control at both sides of the border ...  they have to go through the same procedures that you would with your passport or Nexus."

The bridge is still on track to open in fall 2025, a revised timeline about 10 months delayed from the initial projected opening later in September 2024 because of pandemic-related supply chain delays. The cost of the bridge has also jumped about $700 million, for a total cost of $6.4 billion.

How will the two sides of the bridge meet over the water?

Each section of the bridge was installed in sections. There are 27 15-metre sections on each side of the bridge, and the final mid-span closure will be a 11-metre panel. 

To get it in place, crews will use temporary jacks to move the Canadian side about six inches to get the final piece in place. 

As for how to ensure both sides meet perfectly in the middle, Henderson said there have been controls and survey work in place for years.  

"The alignment was pretty close all the way through. The bridge engineers, construction managers have told me that it's been within 100mm or so, 100 to 150 millimetres as far as alignment."

And after the mid-span closure is in place, there's still more than a year of work to go: Officials say the next steps will be stressing the stay cables, installing electrical, fire suppression and drainage systems, paving the bridge, completing the multi-use path for pedestrian crossing and installing signage and lighting. 

13 million work hours so far

While it's hard to estimate how far along the project is, officials said buildings on both sides of the border are well underway, and work is moving swiftly on the Michigan interchange. 

Heather Grondin is the chief relations officer for the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority. 

She says they have more than 11,000 people who have completed the mandatory training needed to work on the bridge, and have completed more than 13 million work hours to date. The bridge has been recognized with awards for its safe work environment. 

She said she's been contributing and working on the project to erect a new bridge for almost two decades. 

"There were times in the, you know, 2005, 2006, 2008 time frame where envisioning the bridge being at this point was very difficult. A lot of time, effort, planning, many, many people went into even those early days," Grondin said. 

"For me, being able to look back at 18 years now of contributing to this project ... being able to see this bridge so close is very rewarding."