The Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Windsor, Ont. and Detroit has dominated headlines for weeks — but it’s not the first Canadian bridge to bear the hockey great’s name.
Saskatoon has had its own Gordie Howe Bridge for the past decade, named for Howe shortly after his death in 2016.
“What’s the old saying? When somebody does the same thing as you, it’s an honour to you,” said Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block.
“I think that’s a good way to reflect on that — That Saskatoon will always have the first Gordie Howe Bridge, and that our country wants to honour him in a similar way.”
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You can’t blame Saskatonians for laying claim to Gordie Howe naming rights. After all, the legendary hockey player grew up in Saskatoon, having been born in a rural area just outside city limits.
“He’s a hometown hero. And now he’s an international one,” Block said. “Well, I guess he always was.”
In 2013, the City of Saskatoon completed a $300-million infrastructure project: The Circle Drive South Bridge, built to provide the community with another crossing point for the South Saskatchewan River.
Three years later, Howe’s passing led to the renaming of that bridge, along with several other city features, including a nearby sports complex and a camping ground.
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“It just seemed like it was extremely fitting,” Block explained. “Bridges aren’t just about transportation, they’re about connection. In our case, connecting neighbourhoods, and that’s so much in the spirit of Gordie Howe — how he connected hockey fans around the world.”
“From neighbourhood to neighbourhood, and today, from nation to nation. I think it makes our city very proud.”
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At 440 metres in length, the Gordie Howe Bridge in Saskatoon is less than a fifth of the size of the Gordie Howe International Bridge that spans the Detroit River.
Gavin Conacher, business development manager for Prairieland Park in Saskatoon, feels that fact doesn’t make Saskatoon’s bridge any less important.
“Residents of Saskatoon are entirely dependent on it for trade and commerce, and bringing our city together, essentially, across the South Saskatchewan River. It’s not dissimilar to the Detroit River, in some ways,” Conacher said.
Prairieland Park is a historic events centre in Saskatoon, located on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River. Conacher said the Gordie Howe Bridge is within view of visitors to the park.
“In many ways, Gordie Howe put Saskatoon on the map,” Conacher said. “One of the greatest hockey players to ever play the game.”
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Members of Howe’s family were honoured guests at the recent ribbon-cutting for the Gordie Howe International Bridge. They told CBC Windsor they were expecting to get some questions about the bridge in Saskatoon.
“We actually were there for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for that,” recalled Murray Howe, youngest son of Gordie Howe. “That one was very special to us, because Dad was from Saskatoon. He loved Saskatoon. He always honoured his roots there.
“We rode across that bridge, which has a bike lane on it. Just like this one is going to have. So they’re kind of sister bridges, in our mind.”
