The Detroit–Windsor Tunnel (French: tunnel de Détroit-Windsor), also called the Detroit–Canada Tunnel, is a tunnel that connects the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States, to the city of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is the second most used crossing between the United States and Canada. The busiest crossing is the Ambassador Bridge, which also connects Detroit and Windsor. Both cities are located on the Detroit River.
Overview
The tunnel is 5,160 feet (1,573 m) long (nearly a mile). At its lowest point, the two-lane roadway is 75 feet (23 m) below the river surface. A wide no-anchor zone is in place for river traffic around the tunnel.
The tunnel has three main levels. The bottom level brings in fresh air under pressure, which is pushed into the middle level, where the traffic lanes are located. The ventilation system moves vehicle exhaust into the top level, which is then released at each end of the tunnel.
History
Construction on the tunnel began during the summer of 1928.
The Detroit–Windsor Tunnel was built by the company Parsons, Klapp, Brinckerhoff and Douglas, the same company that built the Holland Tunnel. Burnside A. Value was the chief engineer, and Norwegian-American engineer Søren Anton Thoresen designed the tunnel. Ole Singstad, another Norwegian-American, helped plan the tunnel’s ventilation system.
Three methods were used to build the tunnel. Near the tunnel’s entrances, workers used the cut-and-cover method. Beyond the entrances, a tunneling shield was used to dig by hand. For the part under the river, engineers used the immersed tube method. Steam-powered machines dug a trench in the riverbed, and then 4 to 20 feet (1.2 to 6.1 meters) of mud was placed over it. Nine large tubes, each 250 feet (76 meters) long and 35 feet (11 meters) wide, were placed into the trench to form the tunnel.
The tunnel was completed in 1930 at a cost of about $25 million, which is roughly $373 million in 2024 dollars. It was the third underwater tunnel for vehicles in the United States, after the Holland Tunnel between New Jersey and New York, and the Posey Tube between Oakland and Alameda, California.
The tunnel was built after cross-border rail tunnels, such as the St. Clair Tunnel between Port Huron, Michigan, and Sarnia, Ontario, opened in 1891, and the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel between Detroit and Windsor in 1910.
In 2007, Manuel Moroun, who owns the nearby Ambassador Bridge, tried to buy the American side of the tunnel. In 2008, the city of Windsor and its mayor, Eddie Francis, tried to buy the American side for $75 million as part of a deal with Detroit, but the plan failed due to a scandal involving Detroit’s mayor at the time, Kwame Kilpatrick.
Later, Windsor faced financial problems during a recession, and the tunnel’s future became uncertain. After Detroit filed for bankruptcy in July 2013, Francis said Windsor might buy Detroit’s share of the tunnel if it was offered for sale.
On July 25, 2013, the company that manages the tunnel, Detroit Windsor Tunnel LLC, and its parent company, American Roads, LLC, filed for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court. Syncora Guarantee, an insurance company based in Bermuda, later bought the American lease. The lease with Detroit was extended to 2040. Syncora and Windsor hired the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel Corporation to manage the tunnel’s daily operations. In May 2018, Syncora sold its share of American Roads, LLC to DIF Capital Partners, a Dutch company that invests in infrastructure projects.
A $21.6 million renovation of the tunnel started in October 2017 to replace the old concrete ceiling and improve other parts of the tunnel. The project was originally expected to finish in June 2018, but it is still ongoing as of 2021.
Usage
The Detroit–Windsor Tunnel connects the United States and Canada across the border. A sign showing the border between the two countries is placed between their flags in the tunnel. This tunnel is the second most used crossing between the United States and Canada, after the nearby Ambassador Bridge. A 2004 study found that 150,000 jobs and $13 billion in yearly production in the area depend on the Windsor-Detroit border crossing. From 2001 to 2005, the tunnel’s profits reached their highest point, with the cities earning more than $6 million each year. However, a large drop in traffic caused the tunnel to lose profits from 2008 to 2012. A small increase in traffic followed after 2008 as the economy improved.
About 13,000 vehicles use the tunnel daily, even though it has only one lane in each direction and does not allow large trucks. In the past, the tunnel carried fewer commercial vehicles than other nearby crossings because of physical limits, cargo restrictions, and limited road access. Passenger car traffic through the tunnel increased from 1972 until it reached its highest point in 1999, with nearly 10 million vehicle crossings each year. After 1999, crossings dropped, falling below 5 million for the first time in over 30 years in 2007. Traffic slightly increased again in the years after 2008 as the economy improved.
Tolls on the Canadian side were last raised in July 2021. The increase was 37% for those using Canadian currency and 11% for those using American currency. Standard tolls for non-commercial vehicles going to Canada are $9.00 (U.S.) or $7.50 (Canadian). Tolls for vehicles going to the United States are $6.75 (U.S.) or $6.75 (Canadian). Frequent users can use the Nexpress Toll Card for lower rates. Commercial vehicles and buses pay higher tolls. Motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles are not allowed to use the tunnel.
Features
When the tunnel opened in the 1930s, workers used a special vehicle to help move broken-down cars out of the tunnel. This vehicle had two drivers, one facing forward and the other facing backward. The vehicle would drive into the tunnel, connect to the disabled car, and then the driver facing the opposite direction would guide it out. This emergency vehicle also carried hoses, fire extinguishers, and 600 gallons of water.
In the late 1960s, a radio station in Windsor called CKLW AM 800 created a wiring system that allowed its signal to be heard clearly by cars traveling through the tunnel. Today, a radio station in Detroit called WJR AM 760 can also be heard clearly inside the tunnel.
The top and bottom parts of the tunnel are used for air movement. Ventilation towers that are 100 feet tall at both ends of the tunnel help exchange air every 90 seconds.
Photo gallery
- The location where people cross between countries is clearly marked.
- Travelers can enter from Canada at Goyeau Street.
- Travelers can enter from the United States at Jefferson Ave.
- Transit Windsor’s "tunnel bus" was a bus operated by the city that crossed the border regularly until it was stopped in 2025; it waited in Detroit while passengers completed U.S. Customs procedures.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection Checkpoint
- The Detroit entrance to the tunnel
- A video showing a drive through the tunnel from Windsor to Detroit in 2010