Reprise: The people behind a most iconic international handshake

By now, you may have seen a photo taken high above the Detroit River of two iron workers, one from Canada and one from the United States, shaking hands to mark the completion of the deck on the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with those iron workers, Jason Huggett of Canada and Casey Whitson of Michigan.

Both are second-generation iron workers. Jason’s father helped build the twin span of the Blue Water Bridge linking Port Huron, Michigan, with Sarnia, Ontario. Casey’s father worked on the Renaissance Center in Detroit as well as Joe Louis Arena.

They talk about what working on this once-in-a-lifetime project means to both of them and how honored each of them was to participate in the handshake.

They each spoke about it to the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority after the handshake:

Said Huggett: “I said it was about time we got to shake hands after seeing each other from a distance for almost two years, it was really something special. That handshake means a lot to my family, my two sons and my father, who helped build the twin span for the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia.”  

And Whitson: “We would see each other, but we were far, across the river, apart for all these months working. To actually get to be able to meet each other and shake hands and say hello is really cool. It’s the biggest moment in my career and I now share something with my father, who helped build the Renaissance Center in Detroit.”  

Transcript

Meet Casey And Jason

Family Legacies In Ironwork

SPEAKER_04 0:07

Hello, welcome to the Talking Michigan Transportation Podcast. I'm Jeff Cranston. This week I wanted to reprise a conversation I had about a year and a half ago with two iron workers, one from the U.S. and one from Canada, who shook hands at the center of the Gordia How International Bridge when that final connection was made. Obviously, there's still some punch list work left to do before the bridge can open, but it was a cool moment. I don't know if it's correct to call something that's like 19 months old iconic, but it does seem like it quickly became a viral sensation. Both had interesting histories as iron workers and seemed to really feel the moment and how historic it was for them to be there to have that handshake. So I hope if you didn't hear it before, you enjoy the conversation. And if you have already heard it, you enjoy it again. Again, as I mentioned in my introduction, I have the privilege of talking to two iron workers today who have had the uh the distinct honor of playing an important role in building the Gordy Howe International Bridge. And they've been somewhat uh made into celebrities because of an iconic photo of each of them shaking hands. Uh, Casey Whitson, who is a uh Michigan iron worker, uh, was representing the US in that handshake. And Jason Huggett, who is an iron worker from Canada. And what's really interesting about this is they're both second-generation iron workers, and both of their fathers worked on similarly iconic structures. In Casey's case, his father worked on the Renaissance Center in Detroit and also Joe Lewis Arena. And Jason's father worked on the second span of the Blue Water Bridge, which connects Canada and U.S. at Port Huron and Sarnia. Thank you both for being here. Let me let me start with you, Jason. Um, and hopefully the the audience will be able to distinguish your voices. I think I can tell the difference. But uh, you know, what is it what does it mean to you to uh to be able to work on something this this high profile?

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Uh it truly is amazing, Jeff. Uh I've worked a lot of big jobs, but nothing as big as this connecting two countries together. The views the views on this job have been better than almost any other job I've been on.

SPEAKER_04 2:36

Do you imagine in your lifetime you'll ever work on anything as as significant as this again?

SPEAKER_01 2:41

Uh probably not as significant, no. I was thinking about going up to BC, that bridge is going up there, so and it's actually similar to this one, just a lot smaller scale.

SPEAKER_04 2:53

Talk a little bit about your background. You're uh based on your phone number, I get the feeling you're originally from Regina.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

No, I just spent 10 years there, and to be honest, it's the phone's a lot cheaper going with Saskatchewan to Ontario.

SPEAKER_04 3:06

Interesting. Yeah. About that.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

Yeah, so I've uh I've been in the Iron Workers for 20 years now. Uh I've worked all across Canada. Met all kinds of people. Lots of good memories, lots of big jobs. It's hard to ever get home sometimes, but you always got to make a name for yourself in this trade, as Casey knows. Like the only thing you got is your name in this trade.

SPEAKER_04 3:31

Yeah. So, Casey, same for you, I guess. Uh, talk a little bit about your background. Again, you're you're second generation, and it seems like you you see that a lot with iron workers, actually, that there's a generational tie there. Can you talk about that?

SPEAKER_02 3:46

Yeah, typically uh back in the day, you pretty much you were either family or you knew somebody that was in the trade. So I wasn't much of a college student. So I went, I just followed in my dad's footsteps and just started becoming just became an ironworker.

SPEAKER_04 4:02

And uh tell me when the this first got on your your radar. I mean, it was 20 years in the making, planning, uh, politics, which uh you know still play a factor in this. It's gone by three different names. It was the the new international trade crossing, it was the Detroit River International Crossing, and finally settled on the Gordy Howe International Bridge. When did you first uh come aware of the project?

Why This Bridge Feels Different

SPEAKER_02 4:30

Uh probably about four years ago when they first started breaking ground. I uh, you know, I heard about it. I was I was actually gonna stay away from the job because I work a lot in the steel mills and the power plants and the car plants, you know, maintaining all that and having done a lot of big structural jobs. And my BA just called me about two years ago now, actually to the month. It's like, hey, uh, I'd like for you to come out and work on that bridge. And so I said, All right, I'll come out here. And it's been quite quite a couple of years now.

SPEAKER_04 5:03

So talk a little bit first, Jason, about exactly what your day holds for the most part, and and what your work has been and is, and then uh same for you, Casey.

Jason’s Path And Work Life

SPEAKER_01 5:13

Well, typical day, we start 6 a.m. You know, you go through protocols, safety meetings, toolbox talks, all your harness inspections. And then you get up there and you just get get to work. So the last few days we've been taking out the struts between the towers of the uh as Casey and those guys took theirs out a while ago now. So by seven o'clock, you're up in the air, training hooked on, and you're you're starting a demo, really. Got torches going up there, and then you'll be up there for it could be all day, right? We have two breaks, but if you're stuck in the middle of the lift, then you can't go nowhere until that piece is on the ground. So usually we're done at four o'clock, but there is lots of overtime on this job, so there's always something going on, never ending.

SPEAKER_04 6:09

So, Casey, same to you. I guess uh when you get home and I don't know if you have kids or you know your spouse or your friends and ask you, hey, what'd you do today? How do you how do you describe it?

SPEAKER_02 6:20

I always tell them I'm building a bridge. No, I it all depends on you know what aspect that we're doing. Like right now, I'm working on the side of the bridge, which called the cladding, and we're putting on the the steel that goes on the side to kind of close the structure up a little bit. So that's that's what my days consist of right now. Like the in the beginning, beginning of the project, I was part of the the connecting crew and then the bolt-up crew too. So I'd put the iron up, then fall back and start bolting it up, tightening it all up and getting it all lined up right.

Casey’s Path To The Project

SPEAKER_04 6:55

So, how has it been for you guys to uh bridge the gap, so to speak, between you know the international barriers? I mean, I often have joked with my Canadian counterparts as as we've talked about this project and been on meetings for years now, that we speak the same language, but we don't. So one of you guys thinks in feet and one of you guys thinks in meters. How do you how do you get through that?

SPEAKER_02 7:22

Well, you can we both I I know metric from doing install at the the car plants and stuff, but I mean it I hear Jason talking about feet and inches just as much as I do, so I'm not sure on exactly if they use how much metric they use over there on this particular project, but interesting.

SPEAKER_04 7:43

What were you gonna say, Jason?

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Yeah, it's pretty pretty well the same. Like I'm 40, so I got a little bit of age on Kate. I can I can do both just like him, so it's it really comes down to the engineering and the bridge. Like the standard that we're gonna use, right? Metric or something.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

All the price on what the print says, you know, how the print's written out.

SPEAKER_04 8:08

Oh, sure. Yeah, and sometimes you have to interpret and sometimes you don't, I suppose.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Yeah. So yeah, it always changes too.

A Day On The Towers

SPEAKER_04 8:17

Not always. I'm sorry. How how did each of you get chosen for this incredible photograph?

SPEAKER_02 8:23

I uh just luck of the draw for me. I mean, I was just we were just making that last connection, and I just asked the guys, hey, you guys don't mind if I go out and there and you know, cut that loose? And they were like, nah, go ahead. I mean, it was you know, it was no big deal at the time, but now it kind of is a big deal.

SPEAKER_04 8:40

It's a huge deal. Yeah. How about you, Jason?

SPEAKER_01 8:44

Yeah, it was it's been talked about on our side for since we started, really. It came down to me and my partner in the beginning. But my partner moved up to foreman as we needed another foreman. So I was next in line and there it was, called every piece in, so you pretty well get that on there. And uh to be honest, like on our side we only had two journeyman to six apprentices. So it was it was tough some days.

SPEAKER_04 9:14

Yeah. Well, I mean, you you've shared it, I'm sure, probably on social media and with with friends and family. What's what's the reaction you each get from people when they see the photo?

SPEAKER_01 9:25

My dad actually teared up when he seen the picture.

SPEAKER_04 9:28

I'll bet.

SPEAKER_01 9:29

So it it it actually me it it meant something. It's really special.

Cladding, Bolting, And Fit-Up

SPEAKER_04 9:34

Yeah, that's very cool. What about you, Casey?

SPEAKER_02 9:37

It's pretty much the same thing. My my old man, he was he called me, he called me up and I could hear how proud he was. Stuff, you know, and stuff like that. And I got him a copy of that picture that was in the uh that was in the newspaper, and I gave that to him for Father's Day. I gave one to Jason too.

SPEAKER_04 9:54

Oh, very nice. Yeah, very nice. We will continue the conversation right after a quick break.

SPEAKER_03 10:02

Did you know Newton's first law of motion states that a body in motion will continue moving at the same speed and same direction, while the second law states that an object acted upon by the force will undergo Wait, I thought this was a snowplow safety message. It is, which is why this is relevant.

SPEAKER_00 10:21

Don't you think that's complicating things just a bit?

SPEAKER_03 10:24

Not at all. A snowplow weighs 17 times more than your average car.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

Right, and snowplows tend to travel at slower than posted speeds.

SPEAKER_03 10:32

So the third law states that action and reaction are equal and opposite.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

I think it's easier just to remind motorists to give plows the room they need to do their jobs. Follow at a safe distance and don't drive into snow clouds, things like that.

SPEAKER_03 10:47

Well, if you're gonna make it that simple, why don't you just say don't crowd the plow?

SPEAKER_00 10:52

Great idea. Stay safe this winter. Don't crowd the plow.

SPEAKER_03 10:56

That's it.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

Yeah, that's it.

SPEAKER_04 11:00

So we're we're still on on track for opening uh hopefully about a year from now, probably September of 2025. Um you guys feel feel good about hitting that target?

Feet Vs Meters And Reading Prints

SPEAKER_02 11:14

Pretty sure we'll be done. It's gonna be all the other trades, you know, getting all the electricians and the plumbing and all them guys getting all their stuff buttoned up because you know the iron workers will be close, we'll probably be one of the first trades done considering, you know, we got to put the structure up before everybody else has a job. So that's a good point.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

Pretty well the same on the R side. They're like they'll be playing with those cables and tensioning them and stressing them for a while, but until the other trades get in there, there's a lot of work electricians and uh the steam fritters gotta do, or sprinkler fetters, sorry. But the on workers will definitely be done.

SPEAKER_04 11:52

So um what do you you do you have any idea at this point? I'll start with you, Casey, like what you'd be moving on to next. Do you think you'd be going back to doing work at the plants, or do you you see yourself working on another bridge or piece of transportation infrastructure?

SPEAKER_02 12:08

I'll probably stay local. I'll probably head over the Cleveland Cliffs and go back to maintaining that place, you know, with whatever company feels like hiring me, or you know, wherever there's a wherever there's good work, you know, at the car plants or whatever. That's that's my plan, at least for now.

SPEAKER_04 12:24

This is probably a a very good time to to have your skills. You're probably eminently employable, I'll bet.

SPEAKER_02 12:30

Well, I got quite a few years in the trade, so there's that too.

SPEAKER_04 12:34

Yeah. Yeah, Jason, what about you?

SPEAKER_01 12:39

Yeah, the same. There's like a there's that BC Bridge job, which I've been thinking about, and there's a job 30 minutes from my house, a battery plant. I haven't been home in six years, so I'd like to be home, but you never know with this job where you're gonna end up.

SPEAKER_04 12:57

Where is where is home again?

SPEAKER_01 13:00

Home is uh Brightstrove, Ontario. Okay, so it's outside of Kernia.

SPEAKER_04 13:06

So when you talk about, yeah, are you saying a BC project? You're talking about a British Columbia bridge?

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Yeah, British Columbia in Victoria. They're doing another cable stay bridge.

How The Handshake Happened

SPEAKER_04 13:16

That is uh state of the art now, I guess, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 13:20

Yeah, they're I don't know. In my eyes, they look a lot better than the older, so a lot more work to it, but definitely looks better.

SPEAKER_04 13:31

Yeah, that's probably gonna for people like uh Casey and and me, you know, Michigan people, that's probably gonna land with uh a bit of a harsh thud for a lot of people because we've been so proud of the Mackinac Bridge for so long and we stamp it on our license plates, and a suspension bridge is certainly beautiful in its own way, but there is something about these cable state bridges, especially at night when they're lit up, that that really uh really gets you if you if you like bridges.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Yeah, this bridge has lights all over it. Duncher Casey side, they're putting all the lights on the cladding on the outside. This whole thing is gonna be lit right up.

SPEAKER_02 14:07

Yeah, it's gonna be cool. I can't wait to see that.

SPEAKER_04 14:11

Yeah. So what do you think, Casey? What if somebody what if you run into somebody that actually worked on the Mackinac bridge and you tell them yours is cooler, what are you gonna say?

SPEAKER_02 14:20

I would never uh unfortunately one of the one of the last iron workers that did work on the Mackinac Bridge, he just died this year. And uh, but yeah, I don't think I don't I don't think he'd agree with me. I think he'd say his bridge was a little more a little more beautiful.

SPEAKER_04 14:38

In my previous life as a journalist in 1997, we took an iron worker up to the Mackinac Bridge who had helped build it in 1957, and he was in his late 70s at the time, and he had no problem going right up the elevator and walking out there on the platform and you know looking around at the straits. I mean, you talk about a beautiful view. Um, it it's always amazed me that I guess if you're not born with any fear of heights, you never get any fear of heights because that guy wasn't bothered a bit by that. And you probably run into people who are.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

Oh, yeah. You run into run into you run into iron workers who are afraid of heights, believe it or not. I mean, it just happens. But you get over you get over it though. You ain't got a choice. You either gotta make the money or you don't.

SPEAKER_04 15:23

Interesting, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:24

True.

SPEAKER_04 15:25

What do you what do you say, Jason?

SPEAKER_01 15:28

That's very true.

Fathers’ Pride And The Photo

SPEAKER_02 15:30

Well, like I and like what I always tell people, I really don't look past my feet when I'm walking around up on the iron. You know what I mean? I'm not staring at the ground when I'm you know walking, so you kind of really don't pay attention to how high you are unless you really look around.

SPEAKER_04 15:43

So I guess lastly, let's talk a little bit about what you'll take away from this when you're talking about this, you know, 20 years from now. Um, let's start with you, Jason. What what do you think will be your your most significant memory from the project?

Break: Don’t Crowd The Plow

SPEAKER_01 15:58

Well, definitely the handshake is probably the most iconic. But just the crew I had was a lot of work. Everybody coming together to make it safe, done. Like it's just there's a lot going on in this job. Big lifts, trains everywhere, people everywhere. It's just amazing nobody was really hurt in the process of this job. So basically, besides the handshake, the crew I had, uh the views I had up there, like Casey was saying, that top of that tower is like 780 feet, and you can see for miles. That's definitely something I'll take away from it.

SPEAKER_04 16:40

Yeah, that's uh something I talked to you a little bit about, Casey. You've got a uh your dad helped build the Renson, which for for decades has been the tallest building in Detroit and tallest building in Michigan, obviously. And uh technically the uh the the towers uh the Gordy Howe will will be higher, right? So you got you got that to hold over him.

SPEAKER_02 17:03

Yeah, just just a little bit higher by mere feet, but yeah, they're they're a little bit taller than the Renaissance Center. So it took me a long time to achieve that, but I finally did.

SPEAKER_04 17:13

So talk a little bit about what your memory will be and what do you think you'll be talking about most, you know, decades to come.

SPEAKER_02 17:20

Oh yeah, like kind of like what Jason said, you know, getting that first handshake. And you know, you've been sitting here watching these guys work across the river from from you for all this time, and you know, you you think you're never gonna get there, and then like the last couple of sections that we ended up setting, it's like like all of a sudden we were in the middle. It was like, wow, that happened quick when for all the time, all the all the buildup for so long, you know, you're so far apart.

SPEAKER_04 17:46

So that that's like yeah, I was gonna say it sounds like the calculations were all good too, because uh things lined up right from the start, right?

Timeline To Opening And Other Trades

SPEAKER_02 17:56

Yeah, yeah. Canada's Canada's side of the bridge, they can they they have they can move their bridge in and out. I know that sounds crazy, but they've got a hydraulic system that can they could move the the bridge in and out. So that kind of helped with lining getting it all lined up right, you know, with that final piece of iron.

SPEAKER_04 18:16

Yeah, well, I think that uh one of the reasons I'm so intrigued by that photo, not just because it's it's beautifully composed and everything about it is is very cool, but it also because it signifies the peace between our countries. And uh, you know, there's a there's a monument at uh at a community called Putin Bay, which is on South Bass Island in Lake Erie, um not far from Toledo, um, where Commodore Perry fought the British and they put up a monument that's a peace monument between Canada and the U.S. But I I think this bridge is gonna serve as uh every bit the same symbol of of peace. So I think you can both feel pretty good about that.

SPEAKER_02 18:55

It's it's to be part of this project is is just unbelievable. I still I still can't believe you know working on this bridge and being a part of this project and everything that's happened. It's just been a really cool experience, man. I never ever thought I'd ever do anything like this.

SPEAKER_04 19:11

Oh, that's great. Thanks. Thanks a lot, Casey. Jason, anything you want to say to close?

SPEAKER_01 19:16

No, all good. Thank you very much for having me.

What Comes Next For Each

SPEAKER_04 19:20

Yeah, thank you both. I'd like to thank you once more for tuning in to Talking Machine Transportation. You can find show notes and more on Apple Podcasts or BuzzCrout. I also want to acknowledge the talented people who helped make this a reality tweet, starting with Randy Deviler, who skillfully edits the audio, Jesse Ball, who posts the content, Courtney Bates, who posts the podcast to various platforms, and Jackie Salinas, who transcribes the audio to make it accessible to all.