Main deck span for new Gordie Howe Bridge to be done by end of summer 2024

Detroit — The back span decks of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge are now complete and the main span deck has reached about 328 yards over the Detroit River, officials announced during an update on the bridge's construction Tuesday.

The international partnership, including the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority and Bridging North America, said 2023 marked the busiest year of construction for the $4 billion project since it launched in March 2020.

Jorge Gomez, chief commercial officer for Bridging North America, said they had a good construction season with progress on the towers, which was "a milestone visually for us."

As far as the main deck span, "you will see that little gap and it is an important gap that we will all be thrilled when it is closed," said Gomez.

More:Gordie Howe International Bridge team releases new completion date

The main span will be closed by the end of the summer, he said.

The new Detroit-Windsor span originally was scheduled to be opened by the end of 2024 but in early January, the project team announced that the timeline would be pushed back. It now expects the bridge to be completed in September 2025 with cars crossing it a little later that same fall.

On the U.S. side, the facade is complete and the pavement has been laid. Work continues on the Michigan Interstate 75 interchange and construction will Fort and Jefferson Street will begin in the next few months.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge project team, meanwhile, also announced $1.9 million, or $2.3 million Canadian, in 13 new projects, all investments near the new bridge. The new funding includes six initiatives in Windsor and seven initiatives in Detroit.

In Detroit, added initiatives were allocated total $1.2 million USD, include:

• Five solar-powered cell phone charging and WiFi stations will be installed throughout Southwest Detroit offering residents the ability to charge and access to internet 24/7. The stations will be monitored by residents, block clubs and community organizations.
• Unity House Community Center improvements include green programming like gardening and workshops.
• Community Health and Social Services (CHASS) Center in Southwest received $250,000 for healthy habit programming including food security.
• The Detroit River Project received $250,000 for Camp Freedom at Midnight. This international heritage camp encourages young people from Detroit and Windsor to discover the Detroit River region's history, culture and heritage. Funding will allow the year-round camp to offer outdoor activities.
• The Greening of Detroit will work to promote environmental awareness and increase the capacity to become environmental stewards in the community. Funding will support school-based programming for elementary and middle school children.
• Wayne State University Center for Urban Studies will receive funding for safety programs and interventions throughout Delray and Southwest from local youth service corps members. Community safety will be promoted through events, patrols, business-focused safety initiatives, beautification of vacant spaces and providing automobile and home safety interventions.

Kimberly Simmons, president and executive director from the Detroit River Project, said the funding brings the opportunity to continue year-round programming for the Camp Freedom at Midnight initiative.

"We were founded over a decade ago but the summer programming for K-12 students, in collaboration with our school systems, is only a few years old," she told The Detroit News. "This will allow us to focus on how the river brought people together, especially now during Black History Month, we educate on the safe haven of sorts it once was."

In Canada, the initiatives include art-based youth programming, community outreach, green space development for preschool children, interpretation services and school lunch programming.

The project's Neighborhood Infrastructure Strategy is a $17 million community benefits agreement on both sides of the border. As of last year, 38 projects in Windsor and Detroit were included. So far, 10 have been completed and 26 projects are in progress.

There's a total of 53 initiatives focused in the communities of Sandwich in west Windsor and Delray in Southwest Detroit.

The Neighborhood Infrastructure Strategy Funds will allocate the remaining $3.7 million this year and in 2025. The 13 new initiatives were awarded after they applied for grant funding.

"In 2019, we didn't allocate all $17 million. We put money aside with the intention we'd identify projects in the future," said Heather Grondin, chief relations officer of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority.

Last year, the team announced similar added benefits for five Detroit programs including youth programming at Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, small business support through Puente Cultural Integration and Southwest Detroit Business Association.

srahal@detroitnews.com