0125 Bistrôt Mr Hockey's Bridge

2025 marks a crucial milestone for modern engineering and cross-border relations between Canada and the United States. The Gordie Howe International Bridge, a monumental work built over the Detroit River, is now nearing completion, promising to redefine mobility and economy in one of North America’s most vital regions. The Gordie Howe Bridge is not just a bridge, but a symbol of progress and international collaboration, destined to become a new iconic landmark. To explore the challenges and innovations behind this extraordinary project, we had the opportunity to interview the chief bridge engineer Juan Antonio Navarro Gonzalez-Valerio, one of the brilliant minds behind this impressive achievement.

Engineer, how did the idea for such an imposing bridge between Canada and the United States come about? What strategic needs was it designed to meet? How do you think it will change mobility and economy in the two regions it connects?

Most of North America’s major bridges were built in the first half of the 20th century. While they remain iconic landmarks for communities, their maintenance has become increasingly challenging and their design standards are now obsolete. The Detroit-Windsor corridor is one of the busiest border crossings between Canada and the United States, with over 16 million vehicles per year. Yet the Ambassador Bridge, currently one of North America’s busiest international border crossings, is a suspension bridge that opened in 1929. The Gordie Howe International Bridge was conceived to strengthen this vital connection and modernize the corridor, ultimately improving mobility and stimulating economic growth on both sides of the border.

What were the main inputs and requirements that emerged during the international design phase?

CFC-ARX participated in the project during the design-build competition, working for contractor Bridging North America, a joint venture between Dragados, Aecon and Fluor, as a subconsultant to AECOM, alongside Fhecor company. Most design criteria had already been defined through extensive prior studies. The main objectives were aesthetics, durability and performance. For example, no piers were allowed in the Detroit River to avoid interfering with heavy commercial traffic, and all bridge reinforcements are made of stainless steel, an exceptional feature that highlights the project’s attention to longevity and quality.

What were the greatest engineering challenges in designing a bridge with such a long span in an area known for its extremely variable climate?

One of the main challenges in a design-build competition is finding the right balance between cost-effectiveness, crucial for winning the contract, and strict adherence to design criteria established by the Authority. At the same time, construction uncertainties must be minimized. This required extraordinary collaboration between contractor and designer for over a year to arrive at the optimal solution. Ultimately, a highly innovative long-span design was developed that set a world record, securing the contract against other competitors.

How did you work to ensure seismic safety and resistance to wind and ice loads?

Environmental loads did not represent this project’s most critical challenge. Ice loads and direct ship impacts were not considered, as there are no piers within the channel. Wind loads, while significant, are considerably lower than those in hurricane-prone regions. Similarly, seismic forces were sufficiently reduced that they did not influence the design of any bridge component. By strategically leveraging these factors, we were able to develop a world-record design.

Was there a particularly innovative technical or design choice that, in your opinion, distinguishes this project from other similar bridges worldwide?

The Gordie Howe International Bridge is the largest composite deck (concrete plus steel, or concrete only) of any type in the world. All the world’s longest spans are made only of steel. Additionally, it uses an open cross-section composed of longitudinal and transverse beams, known as a ladder structure, rather than a closed box section. This approach significantly reduces the amount of welding required. The combination of these two distinctive features makes the bridge truly unique on a global scale.

Has the bridge adopted solutions for environmental sustainability and impact reduction?

Which do you consider most significant? The most significant contribution to reducing environmental impact is maximizing the bridge’s useful life, 125 years, while minimizing maintenance requirements. To achieve this goal, an extremely detailed durability plan was developed, including the use of stainless steel reinforcements in critical areas, among other long-lasting design features. Additionally, the proposed solution required no demolition; instead, a new bridge was added to the existing corridor to increase its capacity, further reducing environmental impact.

As an engineer and as a person, what does it mean for you to see this project finally near completion? What human and professional lessons will you take from this experience to future projects?

This bridge was the result of collaboration by hundreds of people from around the world. Each brought their own ideas and work methods and, while aligning these perspectives wasn’t easy, through open dialogue and determination we managed to reach the necessary agreements, first to achieve optimal design and then to ensure safe, efficient and economically advantageous construction. I’m particularly proud of how, despite difficulties, we managed to achieve success together. This experience has reinforced the value of teamwork, patience and the strength of a shared goal: lessons I’ll carry with me into every future project.

If you could speak to your younger self, who just started this project, what advice would you give him?

I would tell myself to stay calm and confident, and to enjoy the journey more. With strong teamwork, every challenge can be overcome, so there’s no need to let stress disperse the experience. This type of project is a long-term commitment, lasting almost seven years, and it’s important to find satisfaction not only in the final result, but during the entire design and construction process. Is there a detail, a view, a moment of the Gordie Howe bridge that will always remain with you, or an unexpected or deeply human story that emerges from the construction phase? The closure of the intermediate span was truly magical. We all stayed up all night to prepare for the operation. It was a calm and beautiful night, and at dawn, with a breathtaking view of sunrise, all the bolts fit perfectly into the junction plate, closing the bridge with surprising ease and connecting the two shores, Canada and the United States. The atmosphere was euphoric: about two hundred people standing on the bridge, all together. It was a moment of pure silent joy, a powerful reminder of what we can achieve when we work as one team.

In your opinion, why do bridges continue to fascinate us so much, well beyond their practical function?

Bridges often become iconic landmarks within the communities they serve. It’s not just that they can be beautifully designed, but also their grandeur and presence that fascinate us. They capture attention and inspire awe. This is what drove me to design bridges as a child. I still remember being fascinated by their size and elegance. Today it’s hard to imagine San Francisco without the Golden Gate Bridge or New York without the Brooklyn Bridge, and over time, I hope the Cádiz Bay Bridge, another monumental project I had the fortune to work on with CFC-ARX, will become just as closely linked to its city. Sometimes bridges go beyond mere infrastructure: they become symbols.