Stunning photos reveal progress for epic new $6.4 billion Ontario border bridge

The clock is ticking down with less than one year to go before motorists can finally cross the new multibillion-dollar Canada-U.S. border crossing spanning the Detroit River between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge is easily among the most impressive engineering marvels underway in the country, set to become the 120th land border crossing between the United States and Canada and just the 27th crossing using a bridge or tunnel configuration.

Construction of the bridge began just over six years ago on October 5, 2018, and is currently expected to wrap up next year ahead of the mammoth structure's anticipated September 2025 opening. 

Once complete, the bridge will close a longstanding gap in a major international trucking corridor by linking Ontario's Highway 401 with I-75 in Michigan. 

However, the bridge's reach extends far beyond its mammoth support towers, and captured international attention this year when it officially claimed the title of the longest cable-stayed bridge span in North America, taking the title from B.C.'s Port Mann Bridge.

Though the bridge structure was completed earlier this year, the $6.4 billion titan continues to cross important milestones on its path to completion.

Most recently, crews began paving the bridge's roadway, a milestone now joined by an impressive series of photos released by the project team this week.

📷 We’ve posted a new gallery of the bridge site on the #GordieHoweBridge project website. Paving of the deck as well as installation of electrical, drainage and fire suppression systems are all underway: https://t.co/TDE8Bf66xV pic.twitter.com/ZsvhUIXHdT

— Gordie Howe International Bridge (@GordieHoweBrg) November 18, 2024

The paving work being undertaken since October is preparing the 37.5-metre-wide bridge's six lanes of traffic, two shoulder lanes, and a new multi-use trail for cyclists and pedestrians spanning the structure. 

Sure, they're still construction vehicles, but seeing photographs of actual cars and trucks does offer a better sense of scale compared to earlier photos.

The gentle curving arch of the road deck is highlighted in photos from below the structure, a view already being enjoyed by the large lake freighters that transit the Detroit River each day.

Now cemented in its status as the longest bridge of its kind in North America, the Gordie Howe Bridge team is racing to complete the new cross-border titan. But it was an arduous six years of construction to get to this stage, and there are several more months of work ahead with the build now at least ten months behind schedule.

Even as strides are made toward the finish line, new details about the structure continue to be revealed to the public.

The most recent news came earlier this fall, when celebrated artist and novelist Douglas Coupland was revealed as the lead artist behind an impressive light installation that will consist of approximately 5,000 LED lights spanning the 2.5-kilometre bridge.