Gordie Howe International Bridge Design-Build SUE and UC

The Gordie Howe International Bridge (GHIB) is a $5.7 billion design-build P3 project consisting of a 1.5-mile cable-stayed bridge and border crossing across the Detroit River and will connect Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario. When completed, it will be the longest main span of any cable-stayed bridge in North America at 0.53 miles. The project also includes a Port of Entry in each country and a new interchange with I-75 on the Detroit side. Roadway improvements consist of four new bridges and five new pedestrian bridges and local roadway modifications.

T2 Utility Engineers’ US and Canadian companies are providing Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) and utility coordination services as part of the P3 team on both sides of the border.

• To date, T2ue has performed more than 627 test holes and mapped approximately 375 acres of city blocks on the U.S. side for the new US Port of Entry and bridge abutment.
• The Canadian T2ue teams performed full Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) on 130 acres at the Canadian Port of Entry prior to and during construction. Additional investigations included 39 test holes as well as multiple GPR and MCGPR investigations along the Canadian seawall to identify subsurface anomalies around bridge footings.

T2ue is also responsible for the utility conflict resolution with 23 utility owners and more than 1,300 conflict sites between existing facilities and the proposed design found in the US. The Canadian side had far fewer utilities or conflicts to address. This very large international project is a great example of the benefit that T2ue’s experience brings to a design-build project. Our SUE and Utility Coordination professionals worked seamlessly across the border with an extensive number of stakeholders, resulting in improvements to the construction of the project.