Gordie Howe bridge project delayed again
Estimated completion date pushed to 2023 as specifications change
Construction of the long-awaited new Windsor-Detroit border crossing bridge has been set back by a year because of the complex bidding process, meaning it likely won’t be completed until 2023.
The three consortiums vying to build the Gordie Howe International Bridge were informed in the last week by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority that their detailed bids will not be required until next year.
Final bids were to be submitted this fall and a contractor selected by the end of the year, with construction starting in the summer of 2018, according to the previous time table.
But specifications and requirements for the project have changed, delaying the selection of the contractor and start of construction, according to information obtained by the Star.
Some of the new requirements are contained in a US$55-million community benefits agreement reached earlier this year with the City of Detroit that includes job training, health monitoring and neighbourhood improvements for the industrial community of Delray where the bridge will be located.
Separated pedestrian and bike lanes were also recently added to the bridge design.
Incorporating these added elements into the bid documents takes time and means the three consortiums need until next spring or summer to make their final submissions. It will likely take the bridge authority until the end of 2018 to select the successful bid.
Several more months in 2019 will be needed for a fairness monitor to verify the process was carried out properly. Then the bridge authority has to negotiate a final contract with the winning bidder and workers will have to be hired before construction can start.
That pushes the anticipated completion date back to early 2023, as it is estimated construction will take at least 42 months.
The Howe bridge project includes the crossing, customs plazas and a new two-kilometre feeder road in Detroit to connect with the I-75 freeway.
One of the bidding groups this week informed potential subcontractors that the bridge authority will not be providing “full scope and specifications” for the bridge project until this fall, according to an email obtained by the Star.
That means the three finalists can’t even begin working on final designs and getting price estimates from subcontractors until late this year. It’s unlikely those bids will be submitted until the summer of 2018, and the bridge authority will need at least three to six months to assess them and make a decision.
The bidding process rules prevent any of the primary companies involved from speaking publicly about the project.
“We are somewhat disappointed they won’t meet their milestones on this,” said Jim Lyons, executive director of the Windsor Construction Association, which represents local construction and supply companies likely to be retained as subcontractors. “There is likely a good reason. Hopefully the general public does not panic over this. We are in way too deep on this project for anyone in the federal government to pull the plug.”
Bridge authority chairman Dwight Duncan declined to comment Tuesday.
Despite the delay, construction could start in late 2018, said bridge authority spokesman Mark Butler.
“We are in constant conversation with the proponents who collectively have over 2,000 people working on their proposals to ensure that the procurement process will yield the best possible proposals,” he said. “The procurement process is ongoing and we will advise if there are any changes to the established timeline.”
There has been “significant progress on preparatory activities” that include $200 million invested in the Canadian port of entry and the acquisition of 70 per cent of the properties required on the U.S. side, Butler said.
“Activities at the U.S. port of entry are also underway with demolition and utility relocation,” he said. “These preparatory activities will make the sites ready for our private sector partner to begin construction as soon as possible after financial close.”
Under plans launched by former prime minister Stephen Harper’s
Conservative government, the Howe bridge was to be completed by 2020. But the final bidding stage of the project was delayed significantly by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.
The request for proposals from the shortlisted groups was pushed back nearly a full year until late 2016. The latest delay means a contractor will be selected nearly two years later than originally scheduled.
The Howe bridge may again be “off the rails,” said MP Brian Masse (NDP — Windsor West). He believes the decision to undertake a public-private partnership (P-3) to build the bridge was a mistake and that it should have been a simpler design-build process.
Under design-build, the government issues a tender and pays the contractor for the project. All cost overruns are paid for by government. A P-3 requires the privatesector contractor to pay for the majority of the project and collect operating revenues after it is completed — in this case tolls.
“Under a P-3 there are so many legal obligations that have to be done to ensure one group does not come back and sue if something is missed along the way,” Masse said. “It means any time you have a departure from the original plan it is almost a restart. This is extremely disappointing news. With designbuild you have some flexibility and this could have been built by now. I think there will be more continual challenges like this. It’s become a bit of a nightmare.”
Bill Anderson, director of the University of Windsor’s CrossBorder Institute, said the latest Howe project delay is not entirely unexpected. Delays are common during the bidding phase of a P-3 project, but once construction begins there are few holdups since the added cost has to be covered by the private-sector builder, he said.
“Certainly there will not be a positive reaction to this — nobody will be happy — but this is not unusual for big projects like this,” Anderson said. “Given the complexity and how long this has been going on you have to keep this (delay) in perspective and (look at the) long-term nature of the economic benefits.”