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The high-stakes engineering behind the Blue Water Bridge

Blue Water Bridge inspections protect a vital U.S.-Canada trade route while giving a new generation of engineers hands-on experience at great heights.

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A bridge can be measured in spans and structural components. The Blue Water Bridge, however, carries a different kind of weight. Connecting Port Huron, Michigan, with Sarnia, Ontario, the international crossing is a critical link between the United States and Canada, carrying commercial traffic across the St. Clair River while connecting communities on both sides of the border.

Its importance becomes particularly visible through the traffic that depends on it. Freight trucks rely on the crossing to keep goods moving between two national economies, while freighters pass beneath its structures through a heavily used shipping channel. Tourism and businesses around the approaches also benefit from the steady movement of people across the border. For the authorities responsible for the........

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