Abstract: Upon its completion in 2025, the Gordie Howe International Bridge will stand as North America’s longest-span cable-stayed bridge. Positioned between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Canada, this 845m main span structure has posed a series of unique engineering challenges, necessitating innovative solutions. These range from the design of the stay cable sheathing to the evaluation of weather-related risks and culminate in the development of probabilistic data-driven models for predicting extreme events. In this presentation, I aim to share my journey of discovery and learning, while also highlighting the transformative potential of the specific technologies devised for the bridge on a broader scale.

Short Bio: Christos Georgakis is a Professor of Structural Dynamics and Monitoring at Aarhus University, a position formerly held at the Technical University of Denmark. Furthermore, he is Director of the startup Mathesi and the specialist engineering consultancy Georgakis & Associates. He has been a research coordinator at the Danish Offshore Technology Centre since 2016. Consultancy engagements include the London Millennium Bridge, Stonecutters Bridge, Queensferry Crossing, Port Mann Bridge and the Gordie Howe International Bridge. He is co-author of the book Cable Supported Bridges, Concept and Design and the 2009 recipient of the Jørck Award. In 2018, he was appointed by the insurers to lead the investigation of the Chirajara Bridge collapse.