By KEVIN WALKER

Michigan Correspondent

DETROIT, Mich. — The new Detroit to Windsor bridge is now halfway along a path that ends with completion of the byway – that’s according to the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA), an entity of the federal Canadian government created in 2012 to oversee the project.

The bridge is now called the Gordie Howe International Bridge, after the famed Detroit Red Wings hockey player.

The halfway point occurred in November 2016 when a request for proposals was issued. According to an article in the Nov. 29 Crain’s Detroit Business, the Windsor, Ontario, side of the bridge project has already had extensive preparation done, with buildings being cleared out and dirt brought onto the since the land is low-lying and “soluble.”

On the Detroit side, the article stated a number of buildings remain, some of which are owned by Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel Maroun, whose family has been fighting in court to keep its land from being used for the project.

Maroun wanted to build his own bridge next to the Ambassador Bridge, a structure constructed more than 80 years ago. The Gordie Howe bridge project is at another location about five miles away, in the Delray neighborhood of Detroit. Also, the article says less work will need to be done to the land on the Detroit side.

Construction is slated to begin this summer on the six-lane span, which when completed will be 1.5 miles in length. There will be one approach on each side of the bridge to connect Ports of Entry in Canada and the United States.

According to the WDBA, the bridge could be either a cable-stayed or suspension type. Once complete, it will be one of the five longest bridges in North America. It will also have a dedicated bicyclist and pedestrian path.

Among the latest announcements on the project, on March 5 the WDBA said it had selected Parsons, Inc. of Markham, Ontario, for the role of Owner’s Engineer for the project. The announcement said construction will begin this year. The $61 million contract is the first WDBA has awarded for services related to the design-build phase of the project – a project many years in the making.

In its role, Parsons will support the owner, WDBA – essentially, the Canadian government – through design review, providing technical advice and monitoring and overseeing the construction activities of the private-sector partner through inspections, compliance reviews and audits. Parsons is expected to begin its work in April.

Canadian Consul General in Detroit Douglas George said he expects to name the “preferred partner” on the project in June. The preferred partner is a group that vies to be chosen to undertake the bridge project. As George explained, a number of would-be preferred partner groups, each consisting of several companies, were formed in preparation to vie or bid to participate in the endeavor.

“It’s a very complex project that could involve up to 18 companies,” he said. “The Detroit-Windsor crossing is the busiest border crossing in North America.”

The project will not only involve construction of the bridge itself, but large customs plazas that are considerably larger than the ones that exist today, he added. The project will also see construction of several connector highways.

Also, according to the article in Crain’s, Michigan officials have allocated time to sync with the construction schedule for more court fights, as officials seek to condemn the remaining properties it needs for the project on the Detroit side – 626 parcels in Detroit needed to be condemned for the project, altogether. The Maroun family owns 20 of the 45 properties that still need to be taken, the article said.

“On the U.S. side, 95 percent of the properties needed are under MDOT (Michigan Department of Transportation) control,” George said. “We’re very confident we’ll have all the properties we need when we need them. We’re confident we have that situation under control.”

According to George, agricultural trade between Canada and Michigan is worth about $2 billion a year.

“We take 57 percent of Michigan’s agricultural exports. We deeply appreciate the partnership; agriculture is very big and very important to us. People from all over have been asking about the bridge. We’ve had inquiries about it from as far away as Florida.”

He added that the government of Canada is fully committed to completing the bridge and that a completion date for the project should be available in September.