BlackburnNews.com file photo of the entrance to the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel.
BlackburnNews.com file photo of the entrance to the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel.
Windsor

Major Project Planned For Windsor-Detroit Tunnel

Crews will start work to replace the ceiling in the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel this fall.

The exact date the project will start has not been set yet, but it is expected to begin in late October or early November and last until next May, according to Carolyn Brown, CEO for the Windsor side of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel Corporation.

"We're trying to put in place a closure schedule that is going to minimize the disruption to cross-border travel and expedite the demolition of the ceiling itself, and then, of course, the construction of the new ceiling," says Brown, adding that the closures will be during the overnight hours.

Brown says the tunnel is inspected annually, but after 86 years, engineering firm WPS Parsons-Brinckerhoff recommended replacing the section of ceiling that runs under the Detroit River.

"Wear and tear due to moisture, due to exposure to salt -- heavy vehicles -- the vibrations; it's a combination of things," says Brown listing off factors that have contributed to the recommendation.

The project is expected to cost around $17-million, a cost that will be shared 50-50 with tunnel operator, DWT.

"It is a U.S. contractor [that will carry out the project]," Brown says. "Canadian firms did bid on it, but they were not the lowest bidder."

The tunnel first opened in 1930.

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