I’ve heard and read a lot about the Gordie Howe International Bridge, and it seemed like the day after Thanksgiving, as we were still in the Detroit area, it would be a good time to visit the bridge. Nan plotted a course for the bridge construction site, and after numerous detours and a confused Google maps, we arrived at a site of massive concrete and fabricated steel structures on a clear crisp Friday morning. Gordie Howe Bridge will have six lanes for vehicles and accommodate pedestrians and cyclists when completed in 2024. On Google maps the 722-foot Windsor tower’s shadow extends nearly to the center of the Detroit River. Viewed from the West Jefferson and Springwells Court Roads, the massive concrete tower, an identical twin of the Canadian Windsor tower, has large steel fabricated floor beams extending beyond the center of the tower in preparation for cabling. As Canada is Nan’s country of origin and she still has family connections there, we will make use of the Gordie Howe Bridge on future trips, maybe bike across it some summer day for lunch in Windsor. (At the end of Springwells Court Road, the 1914 Zug Island Road bridge spans the Rouge River. More information can be found on Zug Island Road bridge on Nathan Holth’s historicbridges.org website.)
Vern Mesler 2022
