Bridge Construction
Street Collapses Near $4.4B Gordie Howe International Bridge
Border project is on track for late 2024 completion
Rendering Courtesy Bridging North America
A portion of a Detroit street near the Gordie Howe International Bridge project collapsed last week, but it did not halt construction on the $4.4- billion Canada-U.S. border crossing project.
No workers were on site at the time of the collapse on Sunday, June 5 and no one was injured.
The collapse involved a small section of West Ford Street, between West Fort and Calvary streets, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority reported.
“The road failure caused the compromised concrete to collapse inward in an area approximately 100 ft in length,” said Tara Carson, a spokeswoman for the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority. “Sheet piling was taking place as part of the [bridge] project construction activities in the area.”
The cause of the road failure is being investigated.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge is being built by the consortium Bridging North America, which is led by ACS Infrastructure, Fluor and Aecon. The design-build team includes constructors Dragados Canada, Fluor and Aecon, with design led by AECOM. The project entails construction of a six-lane bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, Canada over the Detroit River. The bridge will have a cable-stayed design and have no piers in the water. It will be approximately 1.5 miles long and have a clear span of 0.53 miles. When completed, the bridge will be among the top five longest bridges in North America.
A temporary road closure on Fort Street between Livernois Avenue and Campbell Street will be lifted on June 14 when one lane in each direction will reopen.
"Work is continuing on all areas of the project including the bridge, Michigan Interchange and at the Ports of Entry," Carson said. "The approximately half-mile area in which this incident occurred is closed to I-75 and Michigan Interchange activities."
The street collapse is not expected to affect the late 2024 opening of the bridge.
Work on the project began in October 2018.
