The Windsor-Detroit Tunnel is marking 95 years of linking two cities in two different countries separated by the Detroit River.
Monday, November 3, is the 95th anniversary of the tunnel being open to traffic between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, with the tunnel running under the Detroit River to link Canada and the United States of America.
Construction began on the tunnel in the summer of 1928 and was completed in 1930 at a total cost of approximately $25 million at that time, or over $463 million Canadian in 2025.
Chief Executive Officer of the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel Corporation, Tal Czudner, says it's a big deal.
"When the tunnel was originally built, the intention was for it to be at least a 100-year project. Then around 30 years ago, the cities of Windsor and Detroit said, 'We need to extend this.' We've done a number of capital projects over the past three decades to make sure we're around for at least another 55 years," he says.
A near $22 million renovation of the tunnel took place in late 2017 to replace the aging concrete ceiling, along with other improvements to the infrastructure, and was completed by 2020.
"Regardless of what happens in Ottawa and Washington, the City of Windsor and the City of Detroit are connected socially, politically, economically, and sports-wise; there are lots of friends and families connected through the cities, and the tunnel is the nicest, funnest, and cheapest way to get there," he says.
According to tunnel officials, a Studebaker was the first vehicle to pass through the tunnel, the first and only underwater international vehicular tunnel in the world at the time of its completion.
Czudner says they have some fun things planned for the anniversary.
"We're going to do some random, free toll and some gifts to give away. We just want to do some fun celebration," he says.
Today, the tunnel remains one of North America's busiest border crossings, accommodating over 12,000 vehicles daily.