Gordie Howe Bridge Project Team Looks for a Third Period Comeback
Gordie Howe Bridge Project Team Looks for a Third Period Comeback
Abstract
The full scope of the project includes four separate segments: the bridge itself, the port of entry in Canada, the port of entry in the U.S. and the Michigan Interchange that will link the bridge to Interstate 75. Crews are now working on the 262-ft-tall upper pylon of the Canadian side's tower, placing and tying the rebar cages that will strengthen concrete as they step up the towerPhoto courtesy of Bridging North America and the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority Under the deal agreed to by former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2012, Canada will charge tolls to reimburse its government for project costs, the Michigan Interchange and the cost of required land acquisitions in both countries. Photo courtesy of Bridging North America and the Windsor-Detroit Bridge AuthorityCOVID-19 ComplicationsWhen the pandemic hit in 2020, AECOM design teams relocated to over 800 home offices. Photo courtesy of Bridging North America and the Windsor-Detroit Bridge AuthorityBut following COVID-19 guidelines meant some impacts couldn't be helped. "We've not changed the schedule, but we're trying to make up time from COVID impacts and everything else," says Michael Hatchell, CEO of BNA.In February, protestors sympathetic to the Canadian trucking demonstration in Ottawa blocked the Ambassador Bridge, making the argument for just how necessary another area bridge border crossing really was. Photos courtesy of Bridging North America and the Windsor-Detroit Bridge AuthorityFinal Tower WorkThe legs of both towers are complete and the rebar cages at their tops were being prepared for concrete placement of the 262-ft-tall pylon heads as of late June. The lower pylons are the longest portion of the bridge towers; each is composed of 29 different segments.
