Construction work on the Gordie Howe International Bridge is poised to meet a major milestone.

The project team announced earlier this month than the final steps to connect the bridge deck over the Detroit River are underway. Just 26 metres now separate the two sides of the bridge, and construction crews estimate they will close that gap by the end of next month.

Crews must install one more segment on the US side that measures 15 metres before work starts on the final segment, known as the mid-span closure.

Unlike any of the other 54 segments that make up the bridge deck, the mid-span closure is custom built with the installation process taking approximately four-to-six weeks and multiple steps.

Once connected, the bridge deck spanning the distance between the two iconic towers will measure 853 metres/0.53 miles making it the longest main span of any cable-stayed bridge in North America and the tenth longest in the world. It will also be the longest composite steel and concrete bridge deck for any cable-stayed bridge in the world. 

“Achieving the bridge deck connection is monumental,” said Charl van Niekerk, CEO, Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA). “This bridge is the physical representation of the international cooperation that exists between the neighbouring communities in Windsor and Detroit, throughout Ontario and Michigan, and across North America. After years of planning and construction, we remain on course to open the bridge in fall 2025, and, with that, create new opportunities for economic growth and prosperity.”

Even though the bridge will appear completed after the milestone, plenty of work remains before the bridge opens in the fall of 2025.

Crews will stress stay cables and install electrical, fire suppression and drainage systems, barriers, signage, lighting, deck paving, and pavement markings and complete the multi-use path.

The bridge features 216 stay cables, of which all but 10 have been installed. The remaining cables will be installed by mid-June.

Meanwhile, progress continues on the Canadian and US Ports of Entry (POEs) and the Michigan Interchange, including: interior work on all buildings within the Canadian POE including window fixtures, heating and cooling, electrical, plumbing and flooring, interior work on more than half of the buildings at the US POE, and placement of all the girders on the ramps over I-75 leading to the US POE.