DETROIT, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – For the first time in a generation, Michiganders can witness a major bridge being built in this state.
Ground was broken on Tuesday for construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge which, when completed in four years, will be the third connector between Detroit and Windsor. The 2,798 foot long span will be the longest “cable-stayed” bridge in North America, and recent reports have the price tag at $4.8 billion.
While the ceremonial shovels were turned, following a seven-year-long battle to secure property needed in both the US and Canada, along with dealing on a legal battle with Matty Maroun, the owner of the Ambassador Bridge who continues to fight the project, actual full-scale work on the joint Canadian-Michigan-owned span isn’t expected to begin until the first week of October at the earliest.
It’s the first major bridge built in Michigan since the Mackinac Bridge was completed in 1957, although there are two high-rise spans along I-75 in downriver Detroit and north of Saginaw.
