The Gordie Howe cable-stayed bridge under construction between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan is 10 months behind schedule and C$700m over budget, the authority building it has said.
Funded by the Canadian government, the previous cost estimate was C$5.7bn (US$4.26bn) and the bridge was to be finished in November 2024.
But yesterday, the Windsor–Detroit Bridge Authority revised the cost up to C$6.4bn (US$4.79) and pushed completion back to September 2025, blaming “unprecedented disruptions” caused by the pandemic.
“After a three-year pandemic and considering the size and complexity of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, our project team is pleased that the impact to the construction schedule is limited to only 10 months beyond the original contracted completion date and that we could agree on a reasonable adjustment to the contract value,” said Charl van Niekerk, the authority’s chief executive.
The authority referred to “hundreds of emergency and executive orders” affecting the project issued during the pandemic by the province of Ontario and the state of Michigan.
The authority said 2023 was a year of rapid progress on the scheme. The team has installed over 130 of the bridge’s 216 cables, half of the six-lane deck and the towers have reached their full height of 220m.
The project is named after Canadian ice hockey player Gordon Howe, who played for a Detroit team.
It is being built by the Bridging North America consortium, made up of US, Canadian and Spanish companies. Design was carried out by Aecom, construction is being handled by Fluor and Aecon, and operations and maintenance will be done by ACS, Fluor and Aecon.
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