Tunnel traffic turmoil

By Grace Bauer

Windsorites looking for quick and easy travel to Detroit will be faced with a speed bump over the coming months.

The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel is under construction, affecting not only individual drivers but also Windsor’s public transit system.

If everything goes as planned, the construction on the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel ceiling will take a total of eight months between October 2017 and June 2018. The tunnel was completely shut down for 10 days at the end of October and will continue to close each weeknight between 8 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. until mid-June.

According to the City of Windsor’s website, its buses provide annual transportation to over six million passengers, with thousands taking the tunnel bus each week.

Pat Delmore, executive director of Transit Windsor, said those numbers have declined since renovations began.

“We currently have very preliminary numbers for October, but we have seen those numbers drop,” said Delmore.

Delmore said they were fortunate to be a part of the initial planning on how this construction was going to work and are kept up to date on its developments.

“I actually just received a report that construction is on schedule,” said Delmore.

According to Delmore, the reason the numbers are looking lower is probably due to people’s lack of knowledge about whether or not the tunnel is still open.

Marley Reaume, a Windsorite who uses the tunnel bus up to five times per month, said while it is frustrating, the construction is much needed.

“As much as the construction is a massive inconvenience, I’m happy it’s being done,” said Reaume. “It’s much better than the alternative… not having maintenance done on an 87-year-old structure that holds 13,000 vehicles a day.”

Alexandra Sellick, also a Windsorite who takes the tunnel bus regularly, said it is truly an unfortunate inconvenience.

“The construction means that now someone has to drive over, which sometimes can be annoying when plans involve drinking,” said Sellick. “Also, you have to find and pay for parking, plus the toll for driving over is more than bus fare.”

Delmore said Transit Windsor is working to ensure the public knows how to navigate the tunnel bus schedule during this confusing time. They have posted information on their website at www.citywindsor.ca and have been in contact with many hotels downtown to make sure travelers know exactly when they can take the tunnel bus.