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Building Bridges: Vollmer Inc.’s work on the Gordie Howe International Bridge helps usher in a new day in U.S.-Canadian trade and transportation

By Susan Bloom | Oct 15, 2024
Vollmer Inc.’s work on the Gordie Howe International Bridge
The landmark Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario—named for the Canadian ice hockey legend—represents a new era in technology, traffic flow, trade and international relations. Ground was broken in October 2018.

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The landmark Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario—named for the Canadian ice hockey legend—represents a new era in technology, traffic flow, trade and international relations. Ground was broken in October 2018. The bridge, which crosses the Detroit River, features two 1.5-mile, 722-foot-high towers—one in each country. A cable-stayed design delivers the entire structure’s weight to the towers and maintains deck stability and placement. It is a model of modern construction and will expand an important transportation and trade artery between the two countries.

Just as important as the bridge are the many agency facilities at the U.S. and Canadian ports of entry that will support border-crossing activities. Thanks to Windsor, Ontario-based electrical contractor Vollmer Inc., construction at the Canadian Port of Entry is nearing completion.

   
Structure supporting primary inspection lanes within the Canadian Port of Entry

Founded in 1965, “Vollmer Inc. has 350 employees and actively participates in projects involving electrical, high-­voltage, datacom, building automation, security, HVAC, mechanical, plumbing, insulation, sheet metal and millwright rigging work,” said Rodney Munro, electrical division manager and project executive at Vollmer Inc. “We serve southwestern Ontario from Windsor to London, and our sister company [Sutherland-Schultz] based in Cambridge, Ontario, covers the remainder of the province.”

Between the company’s work in solar initiatives, utility power generation, hospital, school and college construction and projects for such major area manufacturers as Ford Motor Co., Stellantis and NextStar Energy, “we’re very diverse,” Munro said. “With our location right at the border between Canada and the United States, the Gordie Howe International Bridge project is right in our wheelhouse.”

“We first got involved in the project at a design-build level in 2017–2018, and to see it come from concept to implementation to reality has been incredible,” he said.

An iconic installation

Ryan Grebenc, electrical site superintendent at Vollmer Inc., said the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge was long overdue.

“Among the several ways to cross the Detroit River previously, many people relied on a different bridge just north of us called the Ambassador Bridge, which was over 100 years old and was always jammed with traffic based on its more limited four-lane capacity and location,” Grebenc said. 

“To help alleviate congestion, as well as support redundancy, capacity, system connectivity, improved border processing, and positive economic development, the Canadian government authorized construction of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge project to directly connect Interstate 75 in Michigan with Highway 401 in Canada, which extends from Windsor to Kingston, Ontario. I-75 in the United States runs from Michigan to Florida, so once this bridge is complete, there will be no stoplights from Montreal to Miami along this freeway,” he said.

‘One of the busiest in North America’

“Once this bridge is complete, there will be no stoplights from Montreal to Miami along this freeway,” said Ryan Grebenc, Vollmer Inc.’s electrical site superintendent.

According to Grebenc, the $6.4 billion, six-lane Gordie Howe International Bridge project consists of several main parts.

“The project involved ground-up construction of the new Canadian Port of Entry—grounds we maintain in Windsor,” he said. 

“Then there’s construction of the physical bridge itself, which wasn’t part of our project but still involves us,” Grebenc said. Finally, the project involved construction of the counterpart U.S. Port of Entry in Detroit. 

“On both sides of the border, construction of port of entry facilities was overseen by [the project’s private sector partner, Bridging North America], but work is performed by U.S. contractors on that side and by Canadian contractors on this side,” he said.

With tens of thousands of vehicles forecast to cross daily in 2025 and the bridge representing a critical conduit for trade between the United States and Canada, “this border crossing is one of the busiest in North America,” Grebenc said. “And the new bridge is a modern-looking structure that’s completely supported by land on both ends and doesn’t touch the water at any points, which is a true engineering feat.”

In its role, “Vollmer Inc. was contracted to install all of the electrical services within the buildings that comprise the Canadian Port of Entry, including medium-voltage distribution systems [site utilities] and finishing services for all buildings,” Grebenc said.

Facilities in the complex include the Port of Entry’s main administrative/office building, a canopy structure covering the port’s 24 inspection lanes and a building and canopy designated for secondary inspections.

“Because the Gordie Howe International Bridge also features a multi-use path for walkers or bikers, there’s a building within the Port of Entry complex called client processing, which pedestrians and cyclists would go through instead of the vehicle booth,” Grebenc said. 

“The complex also includes a toll booth canopy and an attached toll center building so that those activities can be monitored, as well as parking lots for trucks coming across the bridge. A great deal of investment has been made in ensuring that these facilities represent the utmost in state-of-the-art design and security,” he said.

“I first got involved with this project in summer 2020, and our team got on-site in early 2021,” he said. “Our initial activities involved preparing for the installation of underground conduit and services, and all of the time we took to properly plan for this activity before getting on-site took one hurdle off the table.”

In addition to power supplied by local utility Enwin, “we installed a redundant system on-site to provide power to the entire campus, so there’s no chance that power will be off,” Grebenc said.

   
The canopy structure supports secondary vehicle inspection within the Canadian Port of Entry.

Pandemic-era challenges

Grebenc said that the strict product review and approval process to ensure compliance with project guidelines was affected by supply chain delays.

“We got approval on certain products, but then a year later when we went to order them, they might not have been available,” Grebenc said. “We’d then have to offer alternatives to the project engineers and wait while those materials were reviewed for quality and compliance.” 

As a result, workers learned to be patient and maintain organized and clear communication. The Vollmer team also experienced other pandemic-era issues.

“Though we’ve come a long way with Zoom calls since the pandemic, not everyone had the same level of comfort with the technology back then, and communicating virtually was challenging at times,” Grebenc said. “The social distancing required then was equally difficult because we often work in pairs in our industry. Crew members would be out of commission even if one of their wives had COVID, so it was hard to maintain full attendance, which delayed things for us,” he said. 

Adapting to the rules by keeping employees safe, customers satisfied and projects on schedule was a juggling act. The weather presented some problems, as well.

“In the winter, temperatures could get down to –30°[C], and the cold wind off the water would chill us to the bone, especially during the first two years of the project when a lot of the work was outside or underground and exposed to the elements,” Grebenc said. 

“We also had a couple of winters with big snowstorms, and having the entire site coated with a foot of snow doesn’t make things easier for anyone. On the flip side, it can get subtropical here in the summer and we had several days where we had to give our crews extra breaks for heat relief.”

Grebenc credits Vollmer’s outstanding crew members for their positive attitude and strong work ethic through the difficult conditions. 

“At any given time, we had between five and 100 workers on this job,” he said, adding that many traveled from Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta to assist. “We had a great team on this project, and we couldn’t have done it without them.”

A positive sign of the times

“In June 2024, we energized our site for the first time, and being able to turn the power on throughout the facilities has been rewarding; it’s always nice to see the fruits of our labor,” Grebenc said, whose team will continue troubleshooting, wrapping up final tasks and paving the way for Port of Entry agency staff to inhabit the facilities, get trained and staff up in advance of the bridge’s official opening in fall 2025.

“This is a legacy project, a piece of history, and something that our company and its employees will be known for,” Grebenc said. “The new Gordie Howe Bridge represents a wonderful upgrade and a positive sign of the times to come for both Detroit and Windsor. This new bridge will enhance the landscape on both sides, ease traffic concerns and make Windsor and Detroit more accessible for everyone.”

Grebenc acknowledged that work on the Gordie Howe International Bridge site was one of the bigger and more complicated projects Vollmer has tackled and required a greater level of teamwork, communication and patience. 

“This is one of the biggest ongoing projects in this area in the last 10 years and we’re proud to put our name on it,” Munro said. “Our ability to put our best team on this project and stay focused through a long process enabled us to succeed, and we’re excited to see how far it’s come.”

Photos: Vollmer Inc.

About The Author

BLOOM is a 25-year veteran of the lighting and electrical products industry. Reach her at [email protected].

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