As nightly closures resume through the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel after a brief reprieve, officials are pleased with the progress.
Tunnel CEO Neil Belitsky says because the reconstruction is moving so well they were able to put off the closures for the American Thanksgiving weekend and keep the tube open even into last night.
Belitsky says they project is still in the demolition phase, but on a more precise scale leading up to the building of forms to replace the ceiling.
He says when the work is complete next summer, it will look as it did before the closure — just newer.
Belitsky admits they've heard from a number of people who like seeing the curved outer roof of the tunnel tube.
"From an engineering perspective, because of the way the tunnel is designed it was impractical for us to leave the ceiling open," says Belitsky. "We kind of had the same feeling as well as the travelling public. It is kind of nice it gives it a lot more open feel than and it is more aesthetically pleasing."
Belitsky says there will be a period over the Christmas holiday period where nightly closures will be suspended again.