As the concrete support towers on both sides of the Detroit River reach up into the sky, it has become obvious visually construction on the Gordie Howe International Bridge has hit full stride and well on its way to the long-awaited border crossing opening for traffic.

“The design-build phase of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project is well underway and construction activities are continuing on both sides of the border on all components of the project — the Canadian and U.S. Ports of Entry, the Michigan interchange and, of course, the bridge itself,” said Mark Butler, spokesman for the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, which is overseeing construction.

“We are focusing efforts on construction of the bridge towers which are now in excess of 100 metres tall. Construction has started on (the plaza) buildings and facilities which will continue over the next few years. On the Michigan interchange (connection to I-75 freeway), work continues to focus on the reconstruction of the road bridges.”

The towers to support the bridge — although currently having reached the equivalent of a 33-storey building — are only about halfway of their final size of 220 metres.

Once they reach their final height, installation of the “cable housing” which will support the six-lane cable-stayed bridge is “arguably more complex,” so will take time to complete before actual installing the bridge deck can get underway — not scheduled to occur until the first half of 2023, Butler said.

Currently on the Canadian side, aside from the towers, construction has begun on many of the various customs, maintenance and other buildings that will be located on the plaza in Windsor.

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