RC122 JanFeb 2026 - Magazine - Page 18
2026 TOP100 PROJECTS
Construction started on October 18, 2018, and after
more than 19 million work hours, the structure is complete. What remains before the 昀椀rst vehicle crosses the
bridge is testing, re-testing and training.
“We are currently focused on testing to identify as
many potential issues as possible and resolve them before
the bridge opens,” said van Niekerk in an interview with
ReNew Canada. “We are also providing all border agencies and our operating teams su昀케cient time to be ready to
operate this new, modern land border crossing.”
In anticipation of its opening, the Canada Border
Services Agency has added 250 o昀케cers to its sta昀昀 and
allocated new o昀케cer trainees to this project.
The Need
The Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel
are both nearly a century old. Aging infrastructure is
one reason for this new bridge. And, despite declines in
border crossings in both directions in the last 昀椀ve years,
the Ambassador Bridge faces capacity issues. In 2024,
6,155,794 total vehicles crossed this land border, 2,280,569
of which were trucks.
“The Ambassador Bridge is nearly 100 years old, and
in private hands, so our focus is on three things,” van
Niekerk says. “First, is the capacity needed for future
growth. The crossings are at capacity, causing massive
delays, especially for truckers. This new bridge solves
that issue.”
The two additional key focus areas the Gordie Howe
International Bridge addresses are e昀케ciency and redundancy. E昀케ciency is achieved through the numerous new
facilities and surrounding infrastructure on both sides of
18—RENEW CANADA –JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026
the border, including on-site truck inspection warehouses.
Redundancy means that instead of competing directly
with the Ambassador Bridge, this new structure o昀昀ers
travellers an alternative and becomes part of the Windsor-Detroit border-crossing network.
“This bridge is going to be such an amazing catalyst
to economic growth,” says van Niekerk. “We are already
seeing this growth in the region with companies making
investments because they know the bridge is coming.”
This additional crossing is not only expected to improve travel and wait times but also to strengthen supply
chains through the creation of brand-new ancillary buildings and infrastructure on both sides of the Gordie Howe
International Bridge.
Much more than a “pretty bridge”
“Everybody focuses on the bridge,” van Niekerk says.
“That’s obvious, because it’s a pretty thing to look at—
and this bridge is phenomenal—but our two ports of
entry are where the magic happens. These are the largest
ports of entry on the Canadian-U.S. border and are built
for future growth.”
Other signi昀椀cant pieces of this project, beyond the
bridge, include upgrading the local roads: the Ojibway
Parkway in Windsor, Ont. and the interchange onto I-75
on the Detroit side. “Once these are complete, it will
create a seamless connection between these highways and
you no longer will have to stop at a tra昀케c light, which is
one of the issues of the current infrastructure,” says van
Niekerk.
Other parts of the Gordie Howe International Bridge
project include pedestrian bridges and ramps that connect
RENEWCANADA.NET
WDBA
The $6.4-billion Gordie
Howe International
Bridge—the longest
cable-stayed bridge
in North America—
stretches 2.5
kilometres and rises
46 metres above the
Detroit River.
(Top right) The Windsor
Detroit Bridge Authority
celebrated the bridge
becoming an official
border crossing, with
the connection of the
bridge deck in July
2024.
