The construction of the $6.4-billion Gordie Howe bridge that started approximately six years ago and was fully funded by the Canadian government is about to be completed. The bridge, that is designed to form a continuous span over the waterway between Detroit and Windsor, will connect Canada and the US, while it was initially progressed separately from the opposite banks of the Detroit River.
By the end of May, when was the last update, the distance between the two segments was only 11m and is anticipated due to the project engineers to be completed by the end of June despite all delays caused by COVID-19. The deck of the bridge is mainly made of steel and concrete composite material that sits within a girder frame only 2.7m in depth from the bottom to its top surface.
The challenge that engineers faced was to construct a bridge tall enough to accommodate commercial ships navigating the river. The decision to opt for a cable-stayed design, instead of a suspension bridge, allowed the project to avoid constructing supporting piers within the riverbed, streamlining the construction process and eliminating navigation concerns.
Therefore, they designed the structure to be supported by towers soaring 220m in height with arrays of 216 stay cables extending from the towers to the bridge. Throughout the construction engineers measured, monitored, and adjusted the tension on the cables to guide the two ends of the bridge toward their eventual convergence point.
Aside from structural efficiency, employing an array of stay cables like these enabled the constructors to utilize less materials compared to a conventional suspension bridge. Moreover, according to the Cross-Border Institute's report, the cumulative time savings for truck traffic are estimated at 850,000 hours per year. This underscores the significance of the structure soon to span the Detroit River. In all, the bridge is anticipated to be delivered by the end of 2025.
Sources: dailyhive.com, theglobeandmail.com
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