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The Detroit–Windsor Truck Ferry is a
ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...
service that has transported
cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...
and
truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...
s across the
Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively referred to as Detro ...
for over 100 years. The service is split between two companies, Detroit–Windsor Truck Ferry, Incorporated of Detroit and CMT Canadian Maritime Transport, Limited of Windsor. It currently accepts only
truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...
s. The ferry is the primary crossing for
hazardous materials Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabi ...
(HAZMAT) trucks between
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
and La Salle in Ontario, and
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
and the
Downriver Downriver is the unofficial name for a collection of 18 cities and townships in Wayne County, Michigan, south of Detroit, along the western shore of the Detroit River. The place is sometimes referred to as South Detroit. Etymology The name ...
communities in Michigan, although other transport trucks may use it as a time-saving alternative to the bridges. Hazardous materials have been banned from the
Ambassador Bridge The Ambassador Bridge is a tolled international suspension bridge across the Detroit River that connects Detroit, Michigan, United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1929, it is the busiest international border crossing in Nort ...
and
Detroit–Windsor Tunnel The Detroit–Windsor tunnel (french: tunnel de Détroit-Windsor), also known as the Detroit–Canada tunnel, is an international highway tunnel connecting the cities of Detroit, Michigan, United States and Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It ...
. The nearest alternative crossing that allows hazardous or
radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...
materials is the Bluewater Bridge, which connects
Port Huron Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...
, Michigan, and
Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron f ...
, Ontario. Similar to all the international crossings in the Detroit–Windsor area, a toll is required, as is clearance from
Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and c ...
and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at both terminals of the ferry route.


Location

On the Windsor side of the river, the truck ferry entrance is at 5550 Maplewood Drive, accessed from
Ojibway Parkway King's Highway18, commonly referred to as Highway18, was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, located entirely within Essex County. Since 1998, the majority of the former route has been known as Essex County R ...
via Sprucewood Avenue, near the
Windsor Salt Mine The Windsor Salt Mine currently operates two locations in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The first is the Ojibway Mine at 200 Morton Drive in Windsor, established in 1955, and is owned by The Canadian Salt Company, Limited. The facility has 250 employees ...
. On the Detroit side of the river, the truck ferry entrance is at 1475 Springwells Court; that street intersects West Jefferson Avenue between South Schroeder Street and South Post Street. The dock is at the mouth of the River Rouge across from
Zug Island Zug Island is a heavily industrialized island within the city of River Rouge at the southern city limits of Detroit in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located where the mouth of the River Rouge spills into the Detroit River. Zug Island is ...
. Customs offices are at the entrances, and one must make a clearance with Customs before embarking onto the truck ferry, for standard procedures.


Ferry

The ferry is a flat open unpowered dumb barge with a pilot house located on one end. The barge is towed by MV Stormont, a diesel harbour tow tug.


Operating Time

The ferry makes 5 trips from each side of the Detroit River from 7am (Detroit side) and 8am (Windsor side) to 3pm (last departure time). One way crossing takes 20 minutes.


References


External links


Official Truck Ferry Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry Ferries of Ontario Ferries of Michigan Transportation in Detroit Transport in Windsor, Ontario Canada–United States border crossings Detroit River