Close X
Monday, December 2, 2024
ADVT 
National

Construction On Gordie Howe International Bridge Officially Underway: Justin Trudeau

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 05 Oct, 2018 01:12 PM
    WINDSOR, Ont. — Construction on a multibillion-dollar bridge touted as a key link between Canada and the United States is officially underway, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday.
     
     
    Flanked by dignitaries from both sides of the border, the prime minister said the Gordie Howe International Bridge, currently slated to cost $5.7 billion, will be built over the next six years and be ready for operation by late 2024. He made the announcement at the beginning of a jam-packed day in Windsor, Ont.
     
     
    He said the 2.5-kilometre bridge spanning the Detroit River will provide a critical conduit for commerce between the two countries, an issue he said has taken on increased relevance since the successful resolution of contentious free trade negotiations earlier in the week.
     
     
    "I'm confident that integrated, two-way trade between Windsor and Detroit will only increase from here, which is a great thing for local communities and the national economy," Trudeau said. "Shorter travel times, more efficient supply chains and better access to the U.S. market. The Gordie Howe International Bridge has been a long time coming."
     
     
    Trudeau said the bridge was always a priority project, but has taken on added significance since Canada joined the U.S. and Mexico in signing an agreement-in-principle on a free trade deal. The pact, dubbed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, has yet to be formally ratified.
     
     
    The road to Friday's announcement has been strewn with political potholes that proponents have had to navigate at the state and federal levels.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    The bridge has also survived multiple legal challenges from the private owner of the nearby Ambassador Bridge, who publicly appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump this year to revoke a presidential permit Barack Obama granted to greenlight construction.
     
     
    On Friday, the bridge received a public benediction from Michigan's Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.
     
     
    "This is a friendship of many, many years, and what better representation than the Gordie Howe International Bridge," he said. "Gordie Howe...set the benchmark for the hockey world. This bridge will set that benchmark for the Canadian-American relationship and for the rest of the world."
     
     
    Trudeau said the construction project will create an estimated 2,500 jobs and will lead to more sustained employment growth once completed.
     
     
    He also touted the long-term trade benefits, saying a quarter of all trade passes through the Windsor-Detroit corridor while 7,000 commercial vehicles travel through the area daily.
     
     
    The six-lane, cable-stayed bridge — whose towers will be designed to look like a hockey stick taking a slap shot — is expected to have a lifespan of 125 years.
     
     
    Later on Friday, Trudeau is expected to meet with union leaders, tour a vehicle assembly plant and hand out turkeys for Thanksgiving.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Employers Didn't Protect Workers' Safety In Fatal Ammonia Leak: WorkSafeBC

    Employers Didn't Protect Workers' Safety In Fatal Ammonia Leak: WorkSafeBC
    A refrigeration company and a municipality have been cited by WorkSafeBC under health and safety regulations after three workers died last year when they were exposed to ammonia at an arena in Fernie, B.C.

    Employers Didn't Protect Workers' Safety In Fatal Ammonia Leak: WorkSafeBC

    B.C. Extends State Of Emergency To Deal With Wildfires Across Province

    British Columbia has set a record this year for the amount of land scorched by wildfires as the province extended a state of emergency to Sept. 12.

    B.C. Extends State Of Emergency To Deal With Wildfires Across Province

    Inspectors Unable To Find The Cause Of A Deadly North Vancouver Apartment Fire

    Inspectors Unable To Find The Cause Of A Deadly North Vancouver Apartment Fire
    VANCOUVER — An investigation has failed to determine the cause of a North Vancouver apartment fire that killed a woman and her young son earlier this year.

    Inspectors Unable To Find The Cause Of A Deadly North Vancouver Apartment Fire

    WATCH: Toronto Man Charged After Alleged Road Rage Incident, Man Clings To Car Hood

    WATCH: Toronto Man Charged After Alleged Road Rage Incident, Man Clings To Car Hood
    Ontario Provincial Police say a Toronto man is facing charges after an alleged road rage incident involving another man seen clinging to the hood of the vehicle.

    WATCH: Toronto Man Charged After Alleged Road Rage Incident, Man Clings To Car Hood

    'Freak Accident:' 2-Yr-Old Calgary Girl Falls Through Blanket Fort, Paralyzed By Glass

    'Freak Accident:' 2-Yr-Old Calgary Girl Falls Through Blanket Fort, Paralyzed By Glass
    Two-year-old Jaclyn Derks was sleeping over at her grandparents'  home and had built a typical childhood fort by draping a blanket from a couch to a bed.

    'Freak Accident:' 2-Yr-Old Calgary Girl Falls Through Blanket Fort, Paralyzed By Glass

    Manitoba RCMP Officer In Serious Condition After Being Shot; 3 Suspects Arrested

    An RCMP officer was shot and seriously injured while responding to a break-and-enter call near a small resort town in western Manitoba, prompting an hours-long hunt for four suspects who split up and left the area.

    Manitoba RCMP Officer In Serious Condition After Being Shot; 3 Suspects Arrested