Welcome to The Fleetway: An Exhibit of the Detroit-Canada Tunnel
The tunnel connecting Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, is the world's only international underwater automobile border crossing. "The Fleetway: An exhibit of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel" highlights the tunnel's construction and history, how it has been used and how it came to be half-owned by the City of Windsor.
The Detroit-Windsor tunnel made its debut on November 1, 1930. Traffic through the tunnel and over the Ambassador Bridge declined through the Great Depression and World War II. During the 1950's and 1960's, the downtown cores of Windsor and Detroit were booming and that caused a great increase in tunnel traffic. Until the late 1960's, the majority of people on both sides of the river lived, worked and shopped downtown. The tunnel became the preferred border crossing.
As suburbs grew around Detroit in the 1970's, the Ambassador Bridge began to provide better access to the major interstate highways and Highway 401 than did the tunnel. However, with the revitalization of Detroit's downtown, construction of the Joe Louis Arena and the Renaissance Centre, tunnel traffic has increased once again. This renewal continues with the building of the Fox Theatre, the Michigan Opera Theatre, the new Tiger Stadium and Comerica Park. These developments have boosted the appeal of downtown Detroit. Over the past ten years, the revitalization of Windsor's waterfront and the construction of a new casino have also attracted more and more American visitors. With all these downtown improvements, the strategic central location of the tunnel is again working to its advantage.