Officials vague on Gordie Howe Bridge opening as lights tested

The Gordie Howe Bridge lit up the sky on Thursday night, but there’s no set opening date. CTV Windsor’s Bob Bellacicco has more.

Gordie Howe International Bridge officials remain non-committal about when the bridge will open.

“It’s really too early for us to give a specific date,” said Chief Relations Officer Heather Grondin.

The bridge may look ready to go, but there’s still a lot of things left to do.

“We really are focusing on getting that construction complete,” Grondin said.

“We do expect construction to complete this year, but we want to make sure that everything is working when we get to the point of opening.”

On-site staff need to be trained. Commissioning and testing continue. Lights were tested Thursday and lit the nighttime sky on the city’s west end.

“Seeing those drawings come to life, I don’t think I’ll be able to recreate that experience until the first time we go over the bridge in a car,” Grondin said with wonderment.

There are 5,000 lights on the Gordie Howe International Bridge between esthetics and those that are functional. What residents saw Thursday night were the esthetic lights. Each light bulb and spotlight on the bridge need to be tested.

“Those are dynamic lights. They are programmable lights. We need to go through the process of making sure the system behind the scenes is working,” said Grondin.

“The lights on don’t mean we’re open, but the lights on is a really good representation of that testing process that we can do now that construction is advanced to the point that it’s at.”

The lights are expected to be on Friday night as officials continue to test the system for the next four to six weeks.

While progress is made on site, 10 of 34 initiatives through the Community Benefit Plan are complete including a rest area at Malden Park that includes bike racks and a map guiding riders to a newly completed trail.

“We really have had the opportunity through our community benefits plan to provide long term, betterment for the people most adjacent to this project,” she said.

A new 0.6 kilometre stretch along Broadway Street is now open adding to the close to 20 kilometres of trails the city has added since 2020.

“Build it and they will come,” said city councillor Renaldo Agostino, who attended Friday’s unveiling of the Malden Park map.

“You’re going to see these trails develop and then hopefully the connection to the waterfront. Obviously, we’ve talked many times about having more stuff down there for people to do so everything works together so I’m looking I’m looking forward to the synergies.”