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Gordie Howe $700 Million More

[radcat]

Gordie Howe bridge opening delayed 10 months; price tag up $700M

Author of the article:

Trevor Wilhelm

Published Jan 04, 2024  •  Last updated 8 hours ago  •  4 minute read

43 Comments

Construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge is shown on Thursday, January 4, 2024.PHOTO BY DAN JANISSE /Windsor Star

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The opening of the long-awaited Gordie Howe International Bridge has been pushed back nearly a year — with an extra $700 million added to the price tag.

 

 

 

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And the first vehicles are expected to cross in the fall of 2025, following construction completion that September. The contractual opening date was originally set for November 2024 with substantial monetary penalties for each day beyond the deadline.

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The federal government is waiving those penalties while taking on the cost of the extra $700-million.

 

The delays and the budget increases are considered a “shared risk,” said Heather Grondin, spokesperson for the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA).

 

“In our contract, we did allow for some instances where some things could be a shared risk,” Grondin told the Star. “This would be an example of that.

 

“Understanding the pandemic that we’ve gone through, our contract did allow for schedule and cost risks to be shared in certain circumstances.

 

“So, in a circumstance such as the pandemic — something that you wouldn’t necessarily be able to plan for — our contract allowed for those circumstances to be taken under consideration.”

 

The WDBA, which oversees the project for the federal government, and the consortium of contractors known as Bridging North America (BNA) announced in a joint statement on Thursday they have agreed to amend the cost and timeline of the project.

 

The teams said the bridge construction, like many other projects, faced “unprecedented disruptions” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“After a three-year pandemic and considering the size and complexity of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, our project team is pleased that the impact to the construction schedule is limited to only 10 months beyond the original contracted completion date and that we could agree on a reasonable adjustment to the contract value,” said bridge authority CEO Charl van Niekerk.

 

“With safety as our top priority, we will continue to work together to deliver this much needed infrastructure to the thousands of eager travellers ready to cross North America’s longest cable-stayed bridge.”

 

MP Irek Kusmierczyk (L — Windsor-Tecumseh) told the Star “a delay is not entirely unexpected” given COVID-19 issues and supply chain disruptions.

 

But with an extended community benefits plan and 11 million worker hours already put into the project, with more to come, he said the delay is actually good for the local economy.

 

“The way I see it, you’ve got more local workers working longer on this project,” said Kusmierczyk. “You’ve got more workers bringing home good paycheques on this historic project, which is important especially as we pull ourselves out of the COVID aftershocks.”

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The Gordie Howe International Bridge construction site is shown on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024.PHOTO BY DAN JANISSE /Windsor Star

 

The global pandemic wasn’t the only issue delaying the project. The Star reported in 2022, after obtaining an analyst’s report, that completion of the bridge would likely be delayed to at least August 2025, partly due to several disputes between WDBA and BNA.

 

The Star also reported in 2022 that BNA had formally requested relief from the contracted project completion date.

 

Grondin told the Star at the time that there were no plans to alter the project, and the contractor was still “obligated” to meet contract dates. She acknowledged Thursday that the disputes contributed to the delays, but said those issues have been resolved.

 

“I know there had been some speculation about timing and extension of the construction schedule,” she said. “But really what we needed to do was see how much progress could be made over 2023 and where we were at over that time.

 

“What’s different now is we’re able to present with more confidence the schedule and confirmation of our overall timeline of being able to open in 2025.”

 

The WDBA said that in recognition of the impacts of the extended construction period, it has budgeted for a one-year extension of the Gordie Howe International Bridge Community Benefits Plan.

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The additional $3 million will be divided equally between the communities of Sandwich/West Windsor and Delray/Southwest Detroit.

 

“The most important thing is it’s getting done,” said MP Brian Masse (NDP — Windsor West).

 

“We can live with the delay in terms of the repercussions to the community,” he said.

 

“But I want to do a full investigation and analysis as to the contract not being met and making sure we’re getting the best value for taxpayers, because we paid a premium to have a public-private partnership for this deal.

 

“And it coming in late and over budget are something we just want to make sure are accounted for. So we can live with it.

 

“We’re going to get some community benefits, which is what I pushed for. But we want to make sure it’s going to be the best deal for taxpayers.”

 

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Despite the delays, WDBA said 2023 was the busiest construction year on the project so far.

 

Grondin said the biggest 2023 milestone was the towers reaching their full heights.

 

In 2024, she said highlights will include the Canadian and U.S. sides of the road deck meeting over the Detroit River, and the installation of all 216 stay cables.

 

“We’re all very happy with the progress that was made over 2023,” she said. “It’s put us in a good position to be able to continue that same level of progress in 2024.

 

“So full steam ahead. And a lot of work still ahead of us this year and into next.”

 

[e-mail]

[Henrye]

This could be great for Aecon,  Wondering what portion of  700 million new total.? Anticipate many new positive surprises in the works! 

[radcat]

... and the penalties have been waived. No need for force majeure on this one. 

[Henrye]

Did not know this part!  Simply speechless! Nice New Years gift to us all !  

[Gabriel]

The budget has been increased means the owner recognizes that the consortium is entitled to a compensation in this case 700m based on a presumed claim we placed, With the increased budget comes a time extension whereby the penalties are waived in this base for almost a year since we are entitled to the time extsnsion of almost a year as a result of our claim. These are excellent news. Considering

[Gabriel]

I just can't believe 3% of the shares are sold short and many institutions are on the sidelines of this magnificent Canadian institution.