National Post (National Edition)
2024 target set for Howe bridge
Total cost of $5.7B to build, operate span
The consortium which will build the Gordie Howe International Bridge will do so at a cost of $5.7 billion to complete and operate the long-awaited project which should open to traffic in the fall of 2024, it was announced on Friday.
Representatives from the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority and contractor Bridging North America for the first time released details of the final signed financial agreement and specifics of the mega-project in a 90-minute press event.
Of the overall total, $3.8 billion is for the design and construction of the project, while $1.9 billion will go to Bridging North America for operation and maintenance costs over 30 years after the bridge opens.
“This is good value for the taxpayers considering the 125-year life span of the project,” said Dwight Duncan,” chairman of the WindsorDetroit Bridge Authority which is overseeing the effort.
The Canadian government will pay for about 85 per cent of the project’s cost in monthly instalments to the global construction team spread out over 30 years.
The private sector consortium is responsible for financing the remaining 15 per cent which is being done primarily through bonds.
Bridging North America consists of a global group of construction firms that include Fluor Canada, ACS Infrastructure Canada and Aecon. Many of the dozen primary firms involved also participated in construction of the Herb Gray Parkway.
The Canadian government will collect all toll revenues under the final agreement.
Dating back to 2006 and up until this past March, the Canadian government has already spent $559 million on the Howe project, primarily to complete environmental assessments, acquire properties and launch site preparation in Windsor.
But if the Windsor-Detroit border were to shut down for a day there would be an estimated $1 billion lost to the economies of Canada and the U.S., Duncan noted.
“So these are the numbers you have to judge us against in the future,” he said.
Early construction of the bridge project on both sides of the border will start within a few weeks, but noticeable construction of everything being in full swing is about a year away, according to Duncan.
“The Gordie Howe bridge is a reality and is happening right now,” he said. “Today is the start of a new chapter for Windsor and Detroit.”
Construction of the sixlane, cable-stayed span is expected to require about 2,500 workers during the six years of construction on both sides of the border — with about 350 to be employed by the end of this year.
The bridge project includes the new Detroit River span, Canada and U.S. customs plazas, plus a threekilometre feeder road and interchange to link with I-75 freeway in Detroit.
Also included will be a 3.6-metre wide, multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists.
A community-enhancement fund of $20 million will pay for projects in both Sandwich and Delray in southwest Detroit “to create measurable and positive opportunities” for the two host communities impacted by the project.
More community consultation on final uses of the those funds will take place in the next six months, but BNA revealed some aspects are likely to include workforce training, economic benefits, added green space, signature lighting, Sandwich Street improvements and overall enhanced community esthetics.
The original completion date released a few years ago by the bridge authority for the Howe project was 2020 under the previous Harper government.
But following a change in government under new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, advancing the project slowed which Duncan has attributed to having in hand very few of the required 636 properties in Detroit.
All required residential and commercial properties in Delray have now been secured for the project — with the exception of about 20 properties owned by the Moroun family, owners of the competing Ambassador Bridge.
They remain subject to legal action, but early court rulings have been favourable to backers of the Howe bridge who indicated Friday they soon hope to have the issue become a non-factor, according to Andy Doctoroff, lead official on the Howe project inside Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s office.
“We have won in trial court, but now the appellate process has to conclude before we can get titles,” he said.
Added Duncan: “We are confident the legal team will be successful, but we have contingencies in place to finish the project without it.”
To help ensure completion of the Howe project within the contracted schedule, Bridging North America would face financial penalties from institutions financing the project, plus also “holdback” penalties in the monthly payments from the Canadian government. Duncan would not provide specifics on those penalties citing confidentiality.