BRIDGE OF THE FUTURE BEGINS TO TAKE SHAPE
Conglomerate awarded contract to build continent’s longest cable-stayed crossing
The long-awaited Gordie Howe International Bridge will be the longest cable-stayed bridge on the continent — and it will be constructed by an international group of companies called Bridging North America.
The winning team, one of three finalists to bid on the landmark multibillion-dollar project, was announced in downtown Windsor on Thursday morning. “This is history in the making,” said Dwight Duncan, chair of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority’s board of directors.
The announcement is one of the project’s most significant milestones since its beginnings in 2001 and its official naming in 2015. Once complete, the cable-stayed bridge will extend 853 metres between its Windsor and Detroit piers, making the main span the longest of its kind in North America. According to the bridge authority, the bridge’s A-shaped towers will rival the height of Detroit’s 73-storey Renaissance Center. There will be six lanes for motor vehicles — two more lanes than the Ambassador Bridge — with a separate pathway for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
The Canadian plaza, to be joined with the Herb Gray Parkway, will be the largest Canadian port of entry anywhere on the U.S.-Canada border.
Estimates of the project’s total cost have ranged from $2.1 billion to $4.5 billion.
Mark Butler, the bridge authority’s director of communications, said financial close of the agreement with Bridging North America will be reached by the end of September, and the bridge authority will be able to announce a more definite contract cost and construction schedule at that time. Duncan said he expects Bridging North America to begin working on the project this month, and major construction should begin in the fall.
The terms of the “P3” — publicprivate partnership — arrangement include delivery of the project at a predetermined price, payment on performance and guarantees that the infrastructure will be well-maintained for the duration of the agreement. “A public-private partnership is just that — it’s a partnership,” said Duncan. “In this case, a long-term partnership that will last 30 years once the crossing is in service.” The question of who will build the bridge has been under careful consideration for more than three years. Six international teams initially applied for the job, boiled down to three proponents in early 2016. Along with Bridging North America, the groups Legacy Link Partners and CanAm Gateway Partners were on the short-list of bidders. Requests for proposals were formally issued by the bridge authority in November 2016.
Each of the bidding teams was composed of multiple firms representing fields such as construction, engineering, architecture, finance, law and bridge operations. Bridging North America includes the firms: ACS Infrastructure Canada; Dragados Canada; Fluor Canada; AECOM; RBC Dominion Securities; Carlos Fernandez Casado; FHECOR Ingenieros Consultores; Moriyama and Teshima Architects; and Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects.
The conglomerate originally included Canadian construction firm Aecon, but that company abruptly withdrew from the group in May, likely due to a potential takeover by a Chinese state-owned company, which was then blocked by the Canadian government.
Heather Grondin, bridge authority vice-president of communications and stakeholder relations, said a third-party “fairness monitor” has been ensuring that the bridge authority’s procurement process is being conducted in a “fair, open and transparent manner.”
Grondin also said there will be a regional focus in the recruitment efforts to come.
Previous forecasts have suggested a four-year construction schedule upon the announcement of the winning bid.
Asked about the continued efforts by the owners of the Ambassador Bridge — the Moroun family — to block the Gordie Howe International Bridge, Duncan said Thursday ’s announcement marks “the beginning of the end” of that battle.
“We have fought off every challenge imaginable,” Duncan told assembled media.
“I can assure you that the governments of Canada and Michigan ... remain committed not only to getting this thing built, but to get started just as soon as we can. And that is literally days and weeks away.” Nevertheless, Duncan said he expects more court dates with the Morouns.
“I think we’ve been challenged in court some 25 times. I think we’ve won every lawsuit. I anticipate more. I think we’re back in court in a couple weeks.”
Work has already begun on the Canadian end of the crossing, in Windsor’s Brighton Beach area, and on the U.S. end, in the Delray neighbourhood of southwestern Detroit.
According to the bridge authority, more than a million tonnes of fill have been placed on the Canadian site to grade the area linking with the parkway. Meanwhile, Michigan’s Department of Transportation has acquired 93 per cent of the properties necessary for placement of the U.S. port of entry, and more than 250 buildings have been demolished so far to make way for the plaza. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens hailed Thursday ’s announcement as a major step in making the crossing a reality and said he’s looking forward to the cable-stayed bridge becoming the new iconic landmark for the city and region. “This will be the postcard backdrop on all the material that comes out of Windsor and Detroit,” Dilkens predicted.
But Thursday ’s fanfare has been a longtime coming for the City of Windsor. Dilkens noted that the municipality ’s legal battles with “a special interest group” — i.e. the Moroun family — have been ongoing since he was first elected to city council in 2006.
“We took matters all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. We were willing to do that because we wanted to protect our city, and we wanted to protect Sandwich Towne,” said Dilkens.
“This is one of the largest infrastructure projects in our entire nation. And it’s going to be built right here in our own backyard, employing lots of people for a long period of time .... I’m just thrilled and super excited about this project.”