President and CEO of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel says the border crossing will be closed completely for 10 days in October for repairs and upgrades.
Neal Belitsky says the tunnel closure will start Oct. 20 at 8:30 p.m. It will reopen on Oct. 30 at 5:30 a.m..
The original plan was to schedule a number closures during nights and weekends.
They still have night closures planned in November.
Belitsky says stakeholders say it was better with a block of time to do the work. This in place of the scheduled closures for the weekend.
He says they are working with a number of agencies including the bridge to ensure the traffic redirected to the bridge will continue to flow.
The tunnel’s engineering consultant conducted an in-depth inspection of the river section exhaust duct ceiling slab and recommended a full removal and replacement of 4,000 linear feet of ceiling.
The ceiling slab is over 85 years old and is showing signs of wear and tear due to moisture, road salt, exhaust, and the impact from trucks.
The typical in-service life of a ceiling slab in tunnel construction is approximately 75 years, so officials say the Windsor-Detroit tunnel has done exceptionally well and remains structurally sound, but given the age of the ceiling, the slab in the river section requires replacement.
The project is co-managed and funded by the Windsor Detroit Tunnel Corporation (owner of the Canadian section of the Tunnel) and Detroit Windsor Tunnel (the Tunnel’s operator).
The $22-million project will be spearheaded by Toebe Construction LLC.
The tunnel construction schedule will be as follows:
Oct. 20 to Oct. 30: The tunnel will be closed for 9 full days starting at 8:00pm on October 20 and reopening at 5:30 am on October 30.
Oct. 30 to Nov. 22: The tunnel will be closed from 8 pm to 5:30am each Sunday through Thursday night.
Nov. 23 to Nov. 26: The tunnel will be open to traffic.
Nov. 27 to Dec. 23: The tunnel will be closed from 8 pm to 5:30am each Sunday through Thursday night.
Dec. 23 to Jan. 1, 2018: The tunnel will be open to traffic.
January 2 to Mid June: The Tunnel will be closed from 8:00pm to 5:30am each Sunday through Thursday night.
