New Windsor Detroit Bridge Towers Reach Milestone

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Construction of Windsor and Detroit’s new bridge has reached a milestone.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge project’s tower legs, also known as the lower pylon, have reached their full height of 140 metres/460 feet on both sides of the border.

Bridging North America, the company building the bridge, will soon begin work on the final portion of the tower, known as the pylon head. Completion of that portion of the work will take place throughout the remainder of 2022 and will involve adding another 262 feet (80 metres) to each pylon.

“It is an exciting time as the towers – arguably the most visible aspect of construction to date – move into the next and final build phase,” says Bryce Phillips, CEO of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority. “With the towers currently standing at over two-thirds of their final 220 metres/722 feet height, they represent the significant progress the project team has been able to achieve.”

The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority says the process to transition from the lower pylon to the pylon head, anticipated to be completed in the spring, involves modifications to the jump form systems and concrete pours to construct the upper cross beam that will merge the tower legs into a single structure.

Once the transition work is complete, construction will begin on the pylon head. The pylon heads will eventually house anchors for the cables that will connect the towers to the bridge and decks.

The towers have been under construction since 2019. Each inverted Y-shaped bridge tower is made of cast-in-place reinforced concrete and has been built in sequential manner through ‘lifts’ or tower leg segments of approximately 4.67 metres/15.3 feet tall to achieve their aesthetic design and their desired functionality.