There's a new iconic bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan set to welcome cross-border traffic when it officially opens next year.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge reached its long-awaited link-up this summer when the bridge's two sides, constructed in tandem by U.S. and Canadian crews, met high above the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor.

Excitement has reached a fever pitch following the huge summer construction milestone, the climactic peak in a six-year journey that began when work on the bridge commenced back in June 2018.

Following the new crossing's big moment, it now lays claim to the title of the longest clear span of any cable-stayed bridge in North America, with a record length of 853 metres or 0.53 miles.

And the public is eating up all of the impressive visuals of this $6.4 billion infrastructure investment. The team behind the new landmark has been regularly releasing photos and videos of the project taking shape, most recently posting time-lapse footage that documents the bridge's growth over the past 27 months.

The video shows off the ascent of the bridge's 220-metre-tall support towers (approximately the same height as the tallest building in Detroit) and the two sides of the bridge deck growing over the river before eventually meeting in the middle.

It's been a whirlwind of construction activity, but work on the project is still several months away from completion.

The Gordie Howe Bridge is scheduled to open in September 2025 — ten months after its initially planned completion date in 2024.

Once open, the bridge will close a longstanding gap in the busy international trucking corridor passing through Detroit and Windsor with a direct connection between Ontario's Highway 401 to Michigan's I-75.