DETROIT, MI  At an estimated cost of $2 billion, the new Gordie Howe International Bridge linking Detroit, Michigan, and the USA to Windsor, Ontario, and Canada is the biggest construction project in the region since Detroit's Metropolitan Airport was rebuilt.

Bridge construction will take several years and employ several thousand people. The Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority, a Canadian firm, will manage the project and construction/engineering experience and qualifications will be critical determinants for the companies hired to work on the complex project.

"This project has created interest from a lot of great local, national and even international companies. G2 Consulting's expertise, experience, and years of working successfully with MDOT (Michigan Department of Transportation), place us in a strong position to add value to a design/construction team," said G2 Consulting Group's Mark Smolinski. "Our experience in bridge and highway construction is significant."

G2 conducted testing of soils and concrete, monitored materials stockpiles and analyzed vibration data during construction of the Ambassador Bridge Gateway project just west of the planned Gordie Howe span. Throughout the past few years G2 also has participated in major bridge and highway construction projects on I-94, I-96, I-69 and I-75 in southeast Michigan. Services provided by G2 include evaluation of soil stability, design and building of bridge pile foundations, and earth retention systems, installation of earth vibration monitoring units, and continual quality control evaluation of soils and aggregate materials.

"G2 has a track record of creating solutions that make major construction jobs faster, more efficient and optimally cost effective," said Smolinski. "Soil conditions can vary significantly from one side of a bridge to the other and we're very aware of the variables that impact Michigan projects. Contractors have to understand exactly what they're dealing with and exactly what they have to do to accommodate - or change -existing conditions. That's our expertise and we hope we get the opportunity to put it into play for the Gordie Howe."