The effort to buy land for the new Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit has earned a national award.

At the American Council of Engineering Companies’ 52nd annual Engineering Excellence Awards, Beam, Longest and Neff, LLC of Wixom, Michigan earned a National Recognition Award for exemplary engineering achievement in overseeing property acquisition for the new bridge.

The firm developed a plan to buy the nearly 300 occupied land parcels needed for the multi-billion-dollar project.

In a news release from the ACEC, the firm was recognized for managing “countless complexities” including developing environmental hazard remediation and large-scale demolition work within lived-in neighbourhoods.

The bridge project is expected to cost $5.7 billion. The targeted opening date is in 2024.