Γέφυρα Gordie Howe: Παιχνίδι Επένδυσης Υποδομών

Το διεθνές εμπόριο εξαρτάται από καλή υποδομή για να εξασφαλίσει την ομαλή και αποδοτική μετακίνηση τόσο εμπορευμάτων όσο και ανθρώπων. Αυτό συχνά επιτυγχάνεται μέσω σιδηροδρόμων ή λιμάνων, ιδιαίτερα για πρώτες ύλες και βαρύτερα αγαθά. Ωστόσο, οι καλές οδικές συνδέσεις είναι εξίσου σημαντικές, ειδικά όταν πρόκειται για ανεπτυγμένες χώρες με μακρύ χερσαίο σύνορο.

Αυτή είναι η περίπτωση στο σύνορο Καναδά-ΗΠΑ, όπου το 25 % του συνολικού εμπορικού εμπορίου μεταξύ των Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών και του Καναδά κατά αξία διέρχεται μέσω μιας μόνο γέφυρας, της ιδιωτικής ιδιοκτησίας Ambassador Bridge. Αυτή η γέφυρα μεταφέρει το 60 % έως 70 % της εμπορικής φορτηγικής κίνησης στην περιοχή.

This trade region connecting Michigan to Ontario is an economically very important one, especially for maintaining the supply chains of the automotive industries of the United States and Canada. In addition, up to 5,000 Canadian daily commuters work in neighboring Detroit.

The Ambassador Bridge was built in 1929. In recent years, it has been privatized, which led to criticisms that such infrastructure with a quasi-monopoly on the local Canada-USA trade should not be in private hands.

This debate will now be solved by the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge. The bridge will provide uninterrupted freeway traffic flow, a big upgrade from the Ambassador Bridge. It will also be the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world, crossing water without towers or piers in the water, with a main span of 853 meters (2,799 feet).

And it will bring much-needed extra capacity and competition to the transit between the US and Canada in the area.

Γιατί χρειαζόταν η Γέφυρα Gordie Howe

Η Κληρονομιά της Γέφυρας Ambassador

The Ambassador Bridge was built by private companies looking to improve the Canada-USA trade connection, after many public projects failed to materialize since the 1880s. At the time of its completion, it was the longest suspended central span in the world.

As a result, the bridge was always a private venture, first as the Detroit International Bridge Corporation, then partially owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A ) (BRK-B ), and then by local trucking entrepreneur Manuel Moroun, who eventually privatized the bridge.

It is like many other key infrastructures in the USA and Canada: impressive, but marking its age of almost a full century. It notably lacks interconnections to directly connect the I-75 and I-96 freeways. Besides its age, it has also been described as “crumbling” as far back as 2015, and overall, its owner has been accused of not maintaining it properly.

Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel Moroun was offered $2B in 2009 by the Canadian government for the bridge, but refused to sell it for less than $3B.

Κατασκευή της Επόμενης Γενιάς

It is within this context of the increasingly inadequate service provided by the Ambassador Bridge that the Gordie Howe International Bridge was conceived. It was first imagined in the 2000s, with early permitting efforts starting in the early 2010s.

Despite opposition and various lawsuits brought by Moroun regarding the competition the new bridge would inflict on the Ambassador Bridge, the new project moved on.

Hopefully, it can also contribute to maintaining close relations between the two countries, despite political tensions.

The bridge will be owned equally by Canada and the state of Michigan, and has cost $6.4B to Canada. To this day, the price of the toll tickets has yet to be announced.

The bridge is named after Canadian ice hockey player Gordie Howe, whose career included 25 years with the Detroit Red Wings.

Construction started in 2018, the bridge deck was finished in 2024, and the bridge is expected to open in 2026, after the construction and commissioning reached 98% completion.

It is currently in the “lighting and toll-testing” phase, moving toward its official grand opening.

Γέφυρα Gordie Howe International ανά Αριθμούς

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Συνολικά, η γέφυρα έχει μήκος 2,5 km (1,55 μίλι) με πτέρυγα 853 μέτρων πάνω από το νερό (2.799 πόδια).

216 καλώδια στήριξης κρατούν τη γέφυρα κάθε 15 μέτρα (49 πόδια), το καθένα υποστηρίζει ένα τμήμα της επιφάνειας της γέφυρας βάρους 300 τόνων. Τα καλώδια συνδέουν την επιφάνεια με τους πύργους 220 μέτρων, που προορίζονται να αντικατοπτρίζουν την καμπυλότητα ενός ραβδιού χόκεϊ στο μέσο του σφύριγματος.

Η γέφυρα θα έχει 6 λωρίδες, 3 σε κάθε κατεύθυνση. Η γέφυρα πλάτους 37,5 m (123 πόδια) περιλαμβάνει επίσης μια πολυ‑χρηστική διαδρομή που μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί από πεζούς και ποδηλάτες. Ένα τσιμεντένιο φράγμα 1,2 m/4 πόδια χωρίζει τους ποδηλάτες και τους πεζούς από την κυκλοφορία των οχημάτων.

Η γέφυρα θεωρείται επίσης οπτικό ορόσημο, με δυναμική νυχτερινή εμφάνιση, χάρη σε 6.000 προγραμματιζόμενα LED φωτιστικά στα πύργους, τα καλώδια και την επιφάνεια.

Ένας τοίχος από κολώνες ύψους 2,9 m/9,5 πόδια, συνολικά 34.000, εξασφαλίζει την ασφάλεια των ταξιδιωτών, καθώς είναι εξαιρετικά ανθεκτικός (συμπεριλαμβανομένων πιθανών συγκρούσεων οχημάτων) και ακατάβαστος. Έχουν σχήμα ραβδιού χόκεϊ, ως αναφορά στον παίκτη χόκεϊ που έδωσε το όνομά του στη γέφυρα. Ένα κενό 0,15 m/0,5 πόδια μεταξύ των κολόνων διατηρεί καθαρή οπτική γραμμή.

Καθώς δεν πρόκειται μόνο για μια γέφυρα, αλλά και για διυπέρβαση συνόρων, και οι δύο πλευρές έχουν κατασκευάσει εκτεταμένες υποδομές για τη διαχείριση των απαραίτητων ελέγχων. Στο χώρο χρησιμοποιείται πλήρης κλίμακα απεικόνισης για τον γρήγορο έλεγχο των φορτηγών.

Η καναδική θέση εισόδου καλύπτει περίπου 130 εκτάρια με 11 κτίρια, 16 λωρίδες διοδίων και 24 κύριες λωρίδες επιθεώρησης. Η αμερικανική πλευρά καλύπτει περίπου 167 εκτάρια με 13 κτίρια και 36 κύριες λωρίδες επιθεώρησης.

Θα συνδεθεί με το διαμεταγωγικό σημείο του Μίσιγκαν, το οποίο είδε την προσθήκη 4 νέων οδικών γεφυρών, 5 νέων πεζοπορικών γεφυρών και 4 διαμεταγωγικών ράμπων.

Η κατασκευή δημιούργησε 2.500 θέσεις εργασίας, και η γέφυρα αναμένεται να λειτουργεί τουλάχιστον 30 χρόνια χωρίς σημαντική ανακαίνιση.

Τεχνολογία Πίσω από τη Γέφυρα Gordie Howe International

The Bridge will include a Multi-Lane Free-Flow (MLFF) tolling system. This electronic tolling technology uses RFID and other detection systems to allow for the detection and payment of the toll by a vehicle without having to stop. Of course, traditional tolling will still be available as well.

This is going to matter especially for the Gordie Howe International Bridge, as it will see a large percentage of total traffic made up of truck freight and regular daily commutes.

Traffic surveillance systems and automatic detection of truck breakdown will also be integrated into the bridge traffic management center, as well as Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) video that will capture unauthorized movement near trucks.

Lastly, the structural health of the bridge will be constantly monitored not just visually, but with integrated high-fidelity fiber-optic structural sensors.

Fiber optic sensors outperform traditional sensors in structural health monitoring (SHM) due to their high sensitivity, resistance to electromagnetic interference, and ability to provide accurate, real-time data over long distances.

Επένδυση στη Γέφυρα Gordie Howe International

Aecon

The North American infrastructure company Aecon has been instrumental in the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge. It was the Canadian contractor for the project, and supervised most of the critical steps, from the building of the foundation piles to the assembly of the bridge deck.

The company has been involved in countless infrastructure megaprojects, from major bridges to tunnels, hydropower dams, nuclear power plants, urban transports, and industrial facilities.

In its construction activities, nuclear and civil engineering represent the largest activities, followed by utilities and industrial facilities.

Πηγή: Aecon

The company also operates concessions of major infrastructure projects, and will own a 20% interest in the Gordie Howe International Bridge. This includes 50.1% of the Bermuda LF Wade International Airport and 50% of the Cyril E. King Airport and Henry E. Rohlsen Airports.

Πηγή: Aecon

The company already has a very steady pipeline of upcoming projects, with most of them located in North America. In total, the company project backlog is worth $10B.

Πηγή: Aecon

The company generated $4.2B of revenues in 2024, and has been known to investors for increasing its dividends by 7% CAGR.

A third activity for the company is its business as a utility company. It provides pipelines, electric power grid, and telecom networks, mostly in Canada. The utility branch of the company is owned at 27.5% by the major infrastructure & investment firms Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. With almost $1B of recurring revenues in the last year, this is becoming a significant segment of the company.

Overall, Aecon is a company centered around infrastructure and large-scale construction projects, with that expertise then deployed in various niches like utilities, nuclear power plants, civil engineering, etc.

This makes it a good company to bet on a revival of infrastructure spending in North America, driven by a political goal of re-industrialization and in the larger context of de-globalization.

Τελευταία Νέα και Ανάπτυξη Μετοχών Aecon (ARE)