Gordie Howe International Bridge
Location: Windsor, Ontario-Detroit, Michigan
Status: Under Construction
Federal/Provincial/Municipal: Federal
Value of Partnership: $6.4 billion*
Type of P3: DBFOM
Financial Close: September 2018
Substantial Completion: Fall 2025 (originally November 2024)
Handback: 2054
The Gordie Howe International Bridge project is one of the most comprehensive and complex infrastructure projects ever undertaken in North America. Not only because it is the first major Canada-United States border crossing built in more than 40 years, but also because many key industries rely on the smooth operation of the Windsor-Detroit corridor, which is the busiest commercial land border crossing between Canada and the U.S. This border crossing plays a fundamental role in the economies of both countries, particularly in trade with respect to their automobile industries.
The international crossing — which is the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America — represents one of the largest recent private financings of a public-private partnership (P3) in Canada with a total project cost of $5.7 billion ($3.8 billion construction, $1.9 billion operations, maintenance & rehabilitation).*
The stepup step-down security package provided to lenders is unique and the project is the first Canadian P3 to use a non-traditional foreign exchange risk framework to balance fluctuating currency prices, setting a precedent for future cross-border transactions.
The P3 agreement covers the designing, building, financing, operations and maintenance of a new, six-lane, 2.5-kilometre cable-stayed 853-metre main span bridge across the Detroit River connecting Windsor and Detroit, a secured port of entry on each side of the border, a tolling system, and completion of the Michigan Interstate-75 (I-75) interchange in Detroit.
The 36-year agreement is comprised of: a six-year design-construction period and 30-year operations and maintenance period.
The P3 contract was procured by Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA), a Canadian federal Crown corporation, and awarded to Bridging North America General Partnership. The consortium will maintain the entire project and collect tolls throughout the 30-year operations term. All toll revenue will be the property of WDBA.
*In January 2024, the WDBA and Bridging North America announced the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge would be delayed until the the fall of 2025 with an additional $700 million needed for the project, borne by the federal government.
“After a three-year pandemic and considering the size and complexity of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, our project team is pleased that the impact to the construction schedule is limited to only 10 months beyond the original contracted completion date and that we could agree on a reasonable adjustment to the contract value,” said WDBA CEO Charl van Niekerk.
Partners:
Public: Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, a not-for-profit federal Crown Corporation
Private: Bridging North America General Partnership (ACS Infrastructure Canada Inc.; Fluor Canada Ltd.; and Aecon Concessions, a division of Aecon Construction Group Inc.)
Awards: National Awards for Innovation & Excellence in P3s' Gold Award in Project Financing, 2019
