Steve Freihon/Related-Oxford
New York, New York
Gordie Howe International Bridge
Integrated protective measures increased the resilience of this landmark, cable-stayed bridge connecting Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario.
Lead Contact
Project Details
Project Partners
AECOM
Owner
Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority
Location
Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario
Completion Date
Protective Design for a Landmark International Crossing
The Gordie Howe International Bridge strengthens transportation links between the United States and Canada. Named for legendary hockey player Gordie Howe, who spent 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, the cable-stayed bridge features an 853-meter (0.53-mile) main span – the longest of its kind in North America – supported by twin A-shaped towers inspired by the curving motion of a hockey stick during a slap shot.
Thornton Tomasetti developed protective design engineering solutions to help guard the bridge itself, as well as its approaches and abutments, against a wide range of security threats. Working closely with bridge engineers from AECOM and the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority from the earliest stages of design, our team integrated structural hardening, fire protection, and other resilience measures into the base structural system. This approach maximized the inclusion of protective strategies, avoiding the cost and disruption of adding protective measures later and supporting the bridge’s distinctive architectural vision.
Advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and nonlinear finite element analyses for extreme events informed targeted, risk-based solutions for the bridge’s components. The outcome is a visually and functionally compelling bridge with inherent strength by design.