Vol.54, No.2 Fall 2024

By Pat Brennan

It’s a spectacular view from up near the top of the 750-foot-high Gordie Howe International Bridge being constructed over the Detroit River.

There will be no public viewing platform on the bridge, expected to open to traffic in September, 2025.

However, Dr. Murray Howe, the youngest son of the famous hockey player, can tell you about that view. He and his daughter Meaghan Stoinsky – also a doctor – were escorted high up on the bridge by ironworker Richard Hutchison, a friend of the Howe family.

Dr. Howe said from up high on one of the two towers supporting the bridge – one in Michigan and one in Ontario – you can see ships plying the Detroit River still two hours away from passing under the bridge.

“You get a phenomenal view of both Detroit and Windsor and environs from there,” said Dr. Howe “and the bridge looks so different from up there.”

Red Wing superstar Gordie Howe had two sons – Mark and Marty follow him into the NHL and Mark into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

His youngest son Murray played minor hockey with Hutchison, whom he calls “Hutch”. Hutch is an ironworker foreman on the American side of the bridge and operates a huge mobile crane, which is an old friend of Gordie Howe – at least its namesake is.

The 50-ton crane called “Mick” can lift 300 tons and is named after 77-year-old Mickey Redmond – a Howe teammate on the Red Wings and the first Red Wing to score 50 goals in a season.

Redmond is the radio colour commentator for Red Wing games and was named top radio hockey commentator this past season in the NHL.

The crane is owned by JJ Curran Company Ltd. of Detroit. President Jeff Curran and his father JJ before him have owned Red Wing season tickets for more than 50 years.

The company has two other heavy-lift cranes painted red and wearing Red Wing names – Stevey Yzerman and Gordie Howe.

Mick lifted a 100,000-pound girder into place on June 14 which connected both sides of the bridge that had been growing out from the Ontario and Michigan shore lines for more than two years.

Canada is paying the construction costs currently estimated at $6.4 billion but will collect all traffic tolls until construction costs are recovered.

Although there’ll be no viewing platform, the bridge will have a 12-foot-wide bicycle and pedestrian walkway along its upstream side. The 28,000-kilometre-long Trans Canada Trail will cross the bridge and hook into the Iron Belle Trail that ultimately connects to the North Country Trail that is 4,800-mile-long and runs through eight U.S. states that border on Canada. The North Country Trail is part of the National Scenic Trail system that comprises 11 scenic trails and has a total length of 28,650 kilometres.

The Howe family – including grandchildren – had a tour of the construction site last year.

Gordie Howe wore number 9 on his back and made that number famous in hockey.

Dr. Howe has written a book called “Nine things my father taught me.”