Dive brief:
- The 5.7 billion dollars Gordie Howe International Bridge Project connecting Detroit and Windsor, Canada, is entering the final stages of tower construction with the help of man’s best friend, according to a press release from the project. The bridge towers have been under construction since 2019.
- The final concrete pour for the architectural heads at the top of the pylon on the North American side of the span has been completed and that tower has reached its full height of 722 feet, according to the release. The heads are sloped to prevent the accumulation of snow and ice.
- Crews are now removing the jump form system that supported the concrete. Those same final steps are expected to begin on the Canadian tower this month, according to the release. Crews will remove equipment, rigs and materials before a crane lifts eight giant panels from the tower, a process that takes about four weeks.
Diving knowledge:
The span is being built by Bridging North America, a consortium of Irving, Texas-based Fluor, Madrid-based ACS Infrastructure and Toronto-based Aecon.
Not only are construction workers bringing the bridge to life, but the project is ramping up help from a Labrador retriever named Demon and other dogs. Cubs patrol the job site to deter nesting birds and other wildlife and protect animals from active construction.
According to the release, the team completed underground foundation work and tower footings in December 2020, which included six shafts per leg of the tower drilled 118 feet into bedrock. The bridge towers provide the support system for the cable-stayed light and house the anchor boxes that connect the guy cables from the towers to the bridges and road decks.
Construction of the lower pylon was completed in March 2022. During this work, jump forms wrapped around the legs of the tower as each leg rose nearly 460 feet. After the completion of the upper crosspiece that joined the legs of the tower into a single structure, work on the top of the pylon has been steadily progressing.
“We are delighted to share that the American tower has reached its final height and the Canadian tower is nearing completion. These majestic towers have been the most visible and inspiring signs of progress representing a great step forward in construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge,” Charl van Niekerk, CEO of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, said in the statement.
So far this year, the first bridge deck segments over the Detroit River have been placed, the first stay cables have been installed, and the fourth and final road bridge has been rebuilt , which allows Michigan Interchange to reopen to drivers in mid-August.
When completed, the Gordie Howe will be the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America with three lanes in each direction for vehicular traffic as well as a multi-use path for bicycles and pedestrians. Bridge officials told the Windsor Star they continue to target aa opening at the end of 2024but this could be brought forward to 2025 due to pandemic delays.
