Detroit–Windsor tunnel
The Detroit–Windsor tunnel, 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 is the second-busiest crossing between the United States and Canada, the first being the Ambassador Bridge, which also connects the two cities, which are situated on the Detroit River.
Overview
The tunnel is long. At its lowest point, the two-lane roadway is below the river surface. There is a wide no-anchor zone enforced on river traffic around the tunnel.The tunnel has 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 system forces vehicle exhaust into the third level, which is then vented at each end of the tunnel.
History
Construction
Construction began on the tunnel in the summer of 1928.The Detroit–Windsor tunnel was built by the firm Parsons, Klapp, Brinckerhoff and Douglas . 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.
Three different methods were used to construct the tunnel. The approaches were constructed using the cut-and-cover method. Beyond the approaches, a tunneling shield method was used to construct hand-bored tunnels. Most of the river section used the immersed tube method in which steam-powered dredgers dug a trench in the river bottom and then covered over with of mud. The nine -long tubes measured in diameter.
The Detroit–Windsor tunnel was completed in 1930 at a total cost of approximately $25 million. It was the third underwater vehicular tunnel constructed in the United States, following the Holland Tunnel, between Jersey City, New Jersey, and downtown Manhattan, New York, and the Posey Tube, between Oakland and Alameda, California.
Its creation followed the opening of cross-border rail freight tunnels including the St. Clair Tunnel between Port Huron, Michigan, and Sarnia, Ontario, in 1891 and the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel 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 Michigan Central Railway Tunnel, 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, owner of the nearby Ambassador Bridge, attempted to purchase the American side of the tunnel. In 2008, the City of Windsor and mayor Eddie Francis controversially attempted to purchase the American side for $75 million as part of a loan package with Detroit, but the deal fell through after a scandal involving then-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.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, Francis said Windsor would again 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-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-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.