The Detroit–Windsor tunnel (french: tunnel de Détroit-Windsor), also known as the Detroit–Canada tunnel, is an international

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...

tunnel connecting the cities of

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 ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

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 ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is the second-busiest crossing between the United States and Canada, the first being 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 North ...

, which also connects the two cities, which are situated on 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 ...

History

Construction

The Detroit–Windsor tunnel was built by the firm Parsons, Klapp, Brinckerhoff and Douglas (the same firm that built the

Holland Tunnel The Holland Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River that connects the New York City neighborhood of Hudson Square in Lower Manhattan to the east with Jersey City in New Jersey to the west. The tunnel is operated by the Port Author ...

). The executive engineer was Burnside A. Value, the engineer of design was Norwegian-American engineer Søren Anton Thoresen, while fellow Norwegian-American Ole Singstad consulted, and designed the ventilation. The method used to construct the tunnel was

immersed tube An immersed tube (or immersed tunnel) is a kind of undersea tunnel composed of segments, constructed elsewhere and floated to the tunnel site to be sunk into place and then linked together. They are commonly used for road and rail crossings of ...

(sections of steel tube floated into place and sunk into a trench dug in the river bottom), as was done in the earlier Posey Tube. The tunnel sections have three main levels. The bottom level brings in fresh air under pressure, which is forced into the mid level, where the traffic lanes are located. The ventilation systems forces vehicle exhaust into the third level, which is then vented at each end of the tunnel. The total cost of construction was approximately $25 million (around $ in dollars). The river section of the tunnel was connected to bored tunnels on both banks. The tubes were then covered over in the trench by of mud. Because the tunnel essentially sits on the river bottom, there is a wide no-anchor zone enforced on river traffic. The tunnel is short of a mile at . At its lowest point, the two-lane roadway is below the river surface.

Completion in 1930

The Detroit–Windsor tunnel was completed in 1930. It was the third underwater vehicular tunnel constructed in the United States, following the

, between Jersey City, New Jersey, and downtown

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York, and the Posey Tube, between Oakland and

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Its creation followed the opening of cross-border rail freight tunnels including the St. Clair Tunnel between Port Huron, Michigan, and

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 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 w ...

, in 1891 and the

Michigan Central Railway Tunnel The Michigan Central Railway Tunnel is a railroad tunnel under the Detroit River connecting Detroit, Michigan, in the United States with Windsor, Ontario, in Canada. The U.S. entrance is south of Porter and Vermont streets near Rosa Parks Bouleva ...

between Detroit and Windsor in 1910. The cities of Detroit and Windsor hold the distinction of jointly creating both the second and third tunnels between two nations in the world. The Detroit–Windsor tunnel is the world's third tunnel between two nations, and the first international vehicle tunnel. The

, also under the Detroit River, was the second tunnel between two nations. The St. Clair Tunnel, between Port Huron, Michigan, and Sarnia, Ontario, under the St. Clair River, was the first.

Operations since 2007

In 2007, billionaire

Manuel Moroun Manuel "Matty" Moroun (June 5, 1927 – July 12, 2020) was an American billionaire businessman, most notable as the owner of the Ambassador Bridge international crossing connecting Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. The bridge, which Moro ...

, owner of the nearby

, attempted to purchase the American side of the tunnel. In 2008, the City of Windsor controversially attempted to purchase the American side for $75 million, but the deal fell through after a scandal involving then-Detroit Mayor

Kwame Kilpatrick Kwame Malik Kilpatrick (born June 8, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the 72nd mayor of Detroit from 2002 to 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the 9th district in the Michigan House of Repres ...

. Soon afterward, the city's finances were badly hit in a recession and the tunnel's future was in question. Following Detroit's July 2013 bankruptcy filing, Windsor Mayor

Eddie Francis Edgar "Eddie" Francis (born May 1974) is the former mayor of Windsor, Ontario. He was 29 years old when he was elected mayor in 2003, the youngest mayor in Windsor's history and one of the youngest mayors ever elected in Canada. He is also Windsor ...

said that his city would consider purchasing Detroit's half of the tunnel if it was offered for sale. On July 25, 2013, the lessor, manager and operator of the tunnel, Detroit Windsor Tunnel LLC, and its parent company, American Roads, LLC, voluntarily filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The American lease was eventually purchased by Syncora Guarantee, a

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

-based insurance company. Soon afterward, the lease with Detroit was extended to 2040. Both Syncora and Windsor retained the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel Corporation to manage the daily operations and upkeep of the tunnel. In May 2018, Syncora sold its interest in American Roads, LLC for $220 million to DIF Capital Partners, a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

-based investment fund management company specializing in infrastructure assets. A $21.6 million renovation of the tunnel began in October 2017 to replace the aging concrete ceiling, along with other improvements to the infrastructure. Completion of the project was initially scheduled for June 2018, but is ongoing as of 2021.

Usage

The Detroit–Windsor tunnel crosses the Canada–United States border; an

International Boundary Commission The International Boundary Commission (french: Commission de la frontière internationale) is a bi-national organization responsible for surveying and mapping the Canada–United States border. The commission was created in 1908 and made permanen ...

plaque marking the boundary in the tunnel is between flags of the two countries. The tunnel is the second-busiest crossing between the United States and Canada after the nearby

. A 2004 Border Transportation Partnership study showed that 150,000 jobs in the region and $13 billion (U.S.) in annual production depend on the Windsor-Detroit international

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

crossing. Between 2001 and 2005, profits from the tunnel peaked, with the cities receiving over $6 million annually. A steep decline in traffic eliminated profits from the tunnel from 2008 until 2012, with a modest recovery in the years since.

Traffic

About 13,000 vehicles a day use the tunnel despite having one lane in each direction and not allowing large trucks. Historically, the tunnel carried a smaller amount of commercial traffic than other nearby crossings because of physical and cargo restraints, as well as limits on accessing roadways. Passenger automobile traffic on the tunnel increased from 1972, until it peaked in 1999 at just under 10 million vehicle crossings annually. After 1999, automobile crossings on tunnel declined, dropping under 5 million for the first time in over three decades in 2007. Traffic on the tunnel later recovered slightly in the following years when the economy began to improve after 2008.

Tolls

Tolls were last increased on the Canadian side in July 2021, 37% for those using Canadian currency and 11% using American currency. Standard tolls for non-commercial Canada-bound vehicles are $5 USD and $6.25 CAD; United States-bound tolls are also $5 USD but $6.50 CAD. For frequent crossers, the Nexpress Toll Card for cheaper rates. Commercial vehicles and buses are charged higher rates. Motorcycles, scooters and bicycles are prohibited.

Features

Tunnel truck for disabled vehicles

When the tunnel first opened in the 1930s the operators had a unique rescue vehicle to tow out disabled vehicles without having to back in or turn around to perform this role. The vehicle had two drivers, one facing in the opposite direction of the other. The vehicle was driven in, the disabled vehicle was hooked up, then the driver facing the other way drove it out. This emergency vehicle also had of water hose with power drive and chemical fire extinguishers.

CKLW, WJR and the tunnel

In the late 1960s, Windsor radio station

CKLW CKLW (800 AM) is a commercial radio station in Windsor, Ontario, serving Southwestern Ontario and Metro Detroit. CKLW has a news/ talk format. It features local hosts in morning and afternoon drive times, with syndicated Canadian hosts ...

AM 800 engineered a wiring setup which has allowed the station's signal to be heard clearly by automobiles traveling through the tunnel. Currently Detroit radio station WJR AM 760 can be heard clearly in the tunnel.

Ventilation

The upper and lower levels of the tunnel are used as exhaust and intake air ducts. One hundred-foot ventilation towers on both ends of the tunnel enable air exchange once every 90 seconds.

Photo gallery

Image:DetroitWindsorTunnelbordercrossing.jpg, The point of international crossing is marked. Image:Detroitwindsortunnelcdnentrance.jpg, Entering from the Canadian side at Goyeau Street Image:Detroitsidewindsortunnel.jpg, Entering from the US side at Jefferson Ave Image:TunnelBusWindsor.jpg, Transit Windsor's "tunnel bus" is a municipally operated bus that regularly crosses the border; it waits in Detroit as passengers go through U.S. Customs. File:Detroit Customs.JPG, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Checkpoint File:Detroit-Windsor Tunnel Portal.JPG, Detroit portal of the tunnel File:Drive through detroit-windsor tunnel.ogv, Video of drive through tunnel from Windsor to Detroit, in year 2010

References

External links

Windsor Detroit Borderlink Limited (Windsor Plaza)

Detroit Windsor Tunnel LLC (Detroit Plaza)

Tunnel Bus
* Windsor International Airport – wiki
Windsor International Airport – official website

Camera of the tunnel

Detroit News archives: The Building of the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Detroit-Windsor Tunnel Transport in Windsor, Ontario Transportation buildings and structures in Detroit Tunnels in Michigan Road tunnels in Ontario Detroit River Toll tunnels in the United States Canada–United States border crossings Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks Tunnels completed in 1930 Buildings and structures in Windsor, Ontario Toll tunnels in Canada Articles containing video clips Road tunnels in the United States Immersed tube tunnels in Canada Immersed tube tunnels in the United States International tunnels 1930 establishments in Michigan 1930 establishments in Ontario