Ontario Construction News staff writer
The final concrete pour for the sloped architectural heads at the top of the pylon head on the Gordie Howe International Bridge is finished, and the US tower has reached its full 722-foot height.
Crews will now begin removing the jump form system which includes artwork by local Detroit based artist Roberto Villalobos. These last steps are anticipated to begin at the Canadian bridge tower in September.
“We are excited to share the US tower has reached its final height and the Canadian tower is nearing completion,” said Detroit-Windsor Bridge Authority CEO Charl van Niekerk. “These majestic towers have been the most visible and inspiring signs of progress representing a major step forward in construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge.”
Underground foundational work and the tower footings were completed in December 2020 and included six shafts per tower leg drilled into the bedrock to a depth of 36 metres/118 feet. Lower pylon construction was completed in March 2022. During this work, the muraled jump forms encased the tower legs providing workers an enclosed environment while each leg rose to nearly 140 metres/460 feet. Following construction of the upper cross beam that merged the tower legs into a single structure, work on the pylon head of the tower has been steadily progressing. Crews will disassemble jump forms by removing equipment, platforms and materials before a crane lifts the eight giant panels from the tower.
“Reaching tower completion is the result of years of meticulous planning, engineering expertise and hard work by thousands of men and women,” said Michael Hatchell, CEO, Bridging North America. “The towers embody strength, durability and innovation in design. Bridging North America has reached this point in the project safely and is extremely pleased with the work of our team. It’s a source of pride and an accomplishment we can all be proud of.”
.Once complete, the tower in Canada will be the tallest structure in the City of Windsor and the tower in the US now rivals the height of Detroit’s tallest building, the 73-storey centre tower of the GM Renaissance Center.The area between the architectural heads at the top of the tower remains open to provide crews access to materials and equipment to continue the installation of stay cables as the bridge deck moves out over the Detroit River and as the road deck connect to the Port of Entry.
