Drive Under the Detroit River and Come Up in Canada

Here’s a Michigan oddity you can experience for yourself. You can get in your car in downtown Detroit, descend into a tile-lined tube, pass beneath the river, and come up in Windsor, Ontario. The Detroit-side operator describes it more precisely as the world’s only existing underwater international passenger-vehicle border crossing.

The tunnel opened on November 3, 1930. The American Society of Civil Engineers lists it at 5,160 feet, nearly a mile, with a maximum depth of 75 feet below the Detroit River. It still links the two downtowns directly.

Building it took three methods. Crews used cut-and-cover construction on land, a shield for the approaches, and nine steel tube sections sunk into a trench in the riverbed. At the dedication, President Herbert Hoover turned a symbolic “golden key” in Washington.

The Detroit-side operator says the tunnel handles about 12,000 vehicles a day, mostly passenger vehicles. Its ventilation system can supply up to 1.5 million cubic feet of fresh air each minute, while the fans can complete an air change in about 90 seconds.

If you go, plan for the border before you plan for the view. Document rules depend on each traveler’s citizenship and status. Canada recommends a valid passport as the most reliable travel document, and U.S. citizens returning by land need a qualifying border document, such as a passport, passport card, enhanced driver’s license, or certain trusted-traveler cards. Check both countries’ current rules before leaving home. The tunnel is also cashless, and its toll and vehicle restrictions can change.