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If you were out and about at night over the long weekend, there’s a chance you noticed something new emanating from the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
Lights on the edge of the deck — or linear lighting — have started to be tested, according to an online statement by the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA). It’s the latest in a series of illumination assessments.
During the testing all lights on the bridge are turned off — then one bulb at a time on the edge lighting is turned on, then off again.
Bridge officials say this is to draw the focus away from the stay cables and toward the structure itself.
WATCH | The bridge began turning on its 164 streetlights back in September:
Check out the new lights on the Gordie Howe International Bridge
Progress on the Gordie Howe International Bridge is growing as crews test street lights on the bridge deck. Jacob Barker reports.
It’s expected this will happen for the “next little while,” according to the WDBA.
The span also includes 164 streetlights. All in, the authority says it’s adorned with approximately 6,000 aesthetic lights on the main deck, back span, towers and stay cables.
Canadian artist Douglas Coupland is handling the overall illumination on the span.
There are roughly 3,300 tests that need to be performed at the U.S. and Canadian ports of entry before the go-ahead can be given, according to Phil Saoud, who previously spoke with CBC News. His Michigan-based engineering consulting firm is responsible for making sure every system on the span works properly.
What we don’t know yet is when the international link will open to trucks and travellers. And it appears as if it’s not just testing and commissioning stalling the ribbon cutting — despite that being a consistent narrative from Ottawa and the Windsor-Detroit Bridge authority.
On Friday, a White House official said the Trump administration continues to engage with all of our trading partners to resolve longstanding unfair trade practices.
That statement came in response to questions from CBC News about what needs to happen before the $6.4-billion dollar bridge, paid for entirely by Canadians, can open, when that will be, and whether it’s linked to broader Canada-U.S. trade talks.
