Gordie Howe International Bridge

GRR Spartan wrote:Once the Gordy Howe Bridge is complete the Maroun family is going to start maintaining The Ambassador Bridge to more than the bare minimums.

Fun fact.  Warren Buffett and the late Charley Munger later regretted passing on the opportunity for  Berkshire Hathaway to become majority or sole owner The Ambassador Bridge when they decided to sell their 25% interest to Matty Maroun getting out of the “bridge business” in the late ‘70’s

With the new bridge in place they would be able to shut lanes down or shut the bridge down entirely to perform maintenance.

On a related note the Mackinaw Bridge is scheduled to undergo a major maintenance with the roadbed being stripped down all the way to the trusses.

http://bridgestunnels.com/location/gordie-howe-international-bridge/

Some history leading up to the GH bridge from.a technical journal.

It really amazes me that those two scrawny-looking towers can support that deck (with the help of the cables). Sheeeit, I would bet D Wags' leg is stronger than one of those towers.

Floyd Robertson wrote:It really amazes me that those two scrawny-looking towers can support that deck (with the help of the cables). Sheeeit, I would bet D Wags' leg is stronger than one of those towers.

There is far more to those towers than that which meets the eye.

They extend, below grade, all the way to bedrock, over 100 feet down, so they have the weight and leverage to hold them straight up & down.

They are hollow, with the inner box's being high grade steel, to which the cables attach.  The cables on on side of each tower are matched up with the cables on the other side of the same tower, thus the weight of the bridge on one side of each tower is balanced with the weight on the other side of the tower.  This is called cantilevered and is used in some form in many major bridge construction when suspended roadways are used. (It was a failure to maintain equal cantilever weight which caused the column failure during the construction of the Zilwalkee bridge.)

So like a giant tinkertoy the towers are maintained in place by the geometry of the entire bridge.

Was leaving Trader Joe's in Northville last night. Coming down the hill, I was surprised to notice that I could see the bridge. When I flew over it a couple months ago, it didn't look like it would be much bigger than the bridge in Toledo, but man. From a distance it looked like it towered over everything.

CaptainSlow33 wrote:Was leaving Trader Joe's in Northville last night. Coming down the hill, I was surprised to notice that I could see the bridge. When I flew over it a couple months ago, it didn't look like it would be much bigger than the bridge in Toledo, but man. From a distance it looked like it towered over everything.

The towers are over 700 feet above grade, which means they are taller than most of the buildings downtown, which I think you can also see from Trader Joe's on a clear day.  Once they start lighting it up at night it should be clearly part of the skyline of Detroit & Windsor.

As noted above, it will be the largest bridge of its type in North America.

This thread needs this. Still the best espn commercial

Floyd Robertson wrote:It really amazes me that those two scrawny-looking towers can support that deck (with the help of the cables). Sheeeit, I would bet D Wags' leg is stronger than one of those towers.

What amazes me is they can line the two ends up after coming from a significant distance. I’m so dumb I can barely connect my two index fingers.

tGreenWay wrote:

Floyd Robertson wrote:It really amazes me that those two scrawny-looking towers can support that deck (with the help of the cables). Sheeeit, I would bet D Wags' leg is stronger than one of those towers.

What amazes me is they can line the two ends up after coming from a significant distance. I’m so dumb I can barely connect my two index fingers.

Surveyors and GPS can get it close enough to get it to line up with one or two smacks from a hammer, if that's even necessary.

Gap is closing.



Better size/resolution in the Spring Gallery : https://www.gordiehoweinternationalbridge.com/en/gallery

Gap is closing? I love their cargo shorts!

tGreenWay wrote:Gap is closing? I love their cargo shorts!

It's an homage to that stupid u of m slappy writer or radio personality who said in like 2003 that the gap is closing between u of m (Amaker?) basketball and Izzo's program.

I wish I could remember the moran's name. Jim something or other? I think he went on to Cleveland to be a lawyer.

Jim Coury maybe

Trapper Gus wrote: Jim Coury maybe

Funny, I was thinking Jim Carty.

Floyd Robertson wrote:

Trapper Gus wrote: Jim Coury maybe

Funny, I was thinking Jim Carty.

You may be right, seems more correct than mine.

Floyd Robertson wrote:Gap is closing.



Better size/resolution in the Spring Gallery : https://www.gordiehoweinternationalbridge.com/en/gallery

Unfortunately I definitely knew this post was not about the MSU and UM football programs.

Floyd Robertson wrote:

Trapper Gus wrote: Jim Coury maybe

Funny, I was thinking Jim Carty.

Definitely Jim Carty. He wrote something like Izzo’s gang no longer green giant or some such nonsensical piece.
Last I heard, Carty was an assistant US attorney. No idea if he’s still a fed.

Phew. The Gap is still open and cargo shorts are on sale.


https://www.gap.com/browse/category.do?cid=5156

tGreenWay wrote:

Floyd Robertson wrote:

Funny, I was thinking Jim Carty.

Definitely Jim Carty. He wrote something like Izzo’s gang no longer green giant or some such nonsensical piece.
Last I heard, Carty was an assistant US attorney. No idea if he’s still a fed.

That's exactly the article I was thinking about.

tGreenWay wrote:

Floyd Robertson wrote:

Funny, I was thinking Jim Carty.

Definitely Jim Carty. He wrote something like Izzo’s gang no longer green giant or some such nonsensical piece.
Last I heard, Carty was an assistant US attorney. No idea if he’s still a fed.

No longer federal giant?

https://www.wxyz.com/news/video-see-how-close-the-gordie-how-international-bridge-is-to-being-connected

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Floyd Robertson wrote:[ig]C69TKKVsbp0[/ig]

This is like foreplay. When will their tips touch?

It's expected to connect by the end of June.




https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/its-big-gordie-howe-international-bridge-by-the-numbers

https://youtu.be/iog6M-8_7O0?si=zJWaFz_7H-boYJW_

Temporary connections are in place between both sides of the bridge to keep them in alignment for the final connection. I assume you could walk from one side to the other now.

Jake from State Farm wrote:Temporary connections are in place between both sides of the bridge to keep them in alignment for the final connection. I assume you could walk from one side to the other now.

I was wondering about that, the videos make it look like one side is higher than the other.

As to walking, only if you are an iron worker.


https://windsor.ctvnews.ca/gordie-howe-bridge-connection-imminent-1.6921037

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7231550

"Midweek we'll actually complete the installation of it with the closure section ... and then of course following that there will be the precast panels and the balance of the construction."

The Gordie Howe is now legally an international crossing, people working on the bridge must go through national points of exit and entry and customs each day that they go to work.

Final piece of the bridge starting to be put in place.

https://www.wxyz.com/news/crews-complete-final-edge-girder-installation-connecting-both-halves-of-gordie-howe-international-bridge



Please note the traditional topping tree, the evergreen on the outboard safety walkway of the final girder.

I thought I was done with this thread...

But...

The emotions in the following video are exactly the emotions of the engineers who designed and monitored the construction.

A group of people came together to create something greater than the parts.




edit - sorry, but as as an engineer, the beginning of the completion of any project, and expecially of one of this magnitude, makes me cry...

"No one has been injured or hurt"...

Bless You Boys

DETROIT - It’s not open yet, but the Gordie Howe International Bridge has just become an official border crossing, connecting Michigan and Canada by the largest cable-stayed bridge in all of North America.

It’s the latest milestone in the Bridge’s ongoing construction between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

It took just over a month to complete the overall connection process by installing the remaining steel beams and precast concrete panels since the iconic photo was taken on June 14th showing an American ironworker and a Canadian ironworker shaking hands atop a beam, 150 feet above the Detroit River.

https://www.mlive.com/news/2024/07/michigan-canada-officially-connected-by-north-americas-longest-cable-stayed-bridge.html

Trapper Gus wrote: Mackinaw Bridge

Mackinac Bridge Trapper.

Not the best pics, but we didn't fly that close to it.

So are they building a connection to I-75? How about on the Windsor side, connecting to 401? Will all of that be finished when the bridge is done?

The target date to complete construction of the bridge remains September 2025. Massive infrastructure changes of roads and freeways on both sides of the border also are on track to be completed by then.

The span will connect Detroit and Windsor by linking Interstate 75 and Interstate 96 in Michigan with the new extension of Highway 401 in Ontario Province.

https://www.roadsbridges.com/bridge-construction/news/55039894/connecting-the-final-pieces-of-the-gordie-howe-bridge

Trapper Gus wrote:

The target date to complete construction of the bridge remains September 2025. Massive infrastructure changes of roads and freeways on both sides of the border also are on track to be completed by then.

The span will connect Detroit and Windsor by linking Interstate 75 and Interstate 96 in Michigan with the new extension of Highway 401 in Ontario Province.

https://www.roadsbridges.com/bridge-construction/news/55039894/connecting-the-final-pieces-of-the-gordie-howe-bridge

Very good. Thank you.

Finally, a peregrine falcon nesting box is one of the last elements to be put in place. It's design is complete and it's set to be constructed and installed in 2025.

https://www.wxyz.com/news/officials-detail-next-steps-for-the-gordie-howe-international-bridge-project

So Bob had better start making his cycling plans right now as it sounds like it will be crowded on the Grodie...

https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/itll-be-amazing-gordie-bridge-expected-to-super-boost-windsor-detroit-tourism