DETROIT – The Detroit Windsor Tunnel is nearly 100 years old and was the first and only underwater tunnel for vehicles connecting two countries. But, there is much more to that tunnel than what people see when driving through it.
Local 4’s Rhonda Walker got exclusive access inside the tunnel that’s never seen before by the public and found out why we will probably never see one built like it again.
“This facility was designed in the 1930s,” said engineer Trevor Pearce. “This is a unique place, and it’s awesome to be a part of it.”
It’s an underwater marvel. The one-mile stretch of road under the Detroit River is rare in the world, even today, connecting two countries.
With an impressive 39-year career managing complex transportation infrastructure projects, structural engineer Regine Beauboeuf was appointed the new CEO of American Roads, the company that owns and operates the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, just eight months ago.
Her team of 50 works around the clock, seven days a week, to maintain it. At nearly 100 years old, diligent attention is paid to safety, maintenance and preservation.
Pearce has worked here for 27 years. The tour started in the ventilation building, where massive fans two stories high help maintain air quality in the tunnel.
“These fans are really here to keep the public safe,” said Pearce. “Make sure there’s fresh air for the people in their cars.”
“We do multi-testing to make sure the entire system functions for its worst-case scenario,” he continued. “We would turn this 500-horsepower fan on to make sure that if there was ever any smoke in the tunnel, we’re drawing that smoke out.”
Pearce said there had never been a significant fire in the tunnel, but there had been water in it.
“If you can imagine a 95-year-old house with a basement, it’s probably going to have some water issues,” said Pearce. “In reality, yes, we do have water coming in here and there.”
Routine crack injections and drainage keep water from ever getting on the road.
Terrance has worked at the tunnel for 30 years, helping oversee over 150 cameras in the tunnel.
“You look at the safety record, it’s been spotless, and now it’s incumbent upon me to make sure it remains,” he said.
Stall or breakdowns — no need to wait for a tow truck or Detroit police. They have their own internal vehicle recovery network.
There’s also a part of the tunnel where workers can stand over cars on a floating ceiling. It stretches across the entire tunnel with a security component where the Department of Homeland Security is watching, so nobody can just walk through.
One of the noticeable features of the tunnel is that it looks really old, and sometimes it can look a little dirty.
“We wash the walls every week,” said Pearce. “But the reality is, if you have cars driving through your living room every day. . .”
Unlike a typical living room, this tunnel will never lose power.
“I have two independent feeders from DTE,” said Pearce. “I also have two independent feeders coming from Canada. Yes, four different sources, four sources of power, all independent. And that one time where Detroit went black for two weeks, we had power.”
They are also constantly working with their Canadian counterparts.
“Love the fact that this is an infrastructure that really has been connecting this community for over 90 years,” said Beauboeuf. “And that tells a rich history of how intertwined Windsor and Detroit are.”
It takes both sides of the border to maintain it, but the environmental impacts could never pass approval to build another one like it again.
“Because of the work we did in the river, there is no way, environmentally, you could actually convince fish and wildlife the feeling that you can actually go and dredge the bottom of the river,” said Beauboeuf. “So that’s what was always so unique about it, is we have to really maintain it.”
From above and below the water level, the middle section is not only below the river surface -- dirt and massive boulders keep it there and protect it from ships above.
“There is an anchor-free zone around the tunnel, but we don’t want anything to happen to that. So, even if someone did anchor, you wouldn’t hit the tunnel.”
What’s truly fascinating is that this is the original structure and has lasted nearly 100 years.
“The original design these guys put forward is going to last until this place closes, and a tunnel lasts at least 150 years. We’re making sure that this place is viable for the next 50 years,” said Pearce.
Meet the woman behind the tunnel
At the end of last year, America Roads, the company that owns and operates the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, hired a new CEO.
Beaubouef is no stranger to the transportation infrastructure, but her hiring is the first in the tunnel’s leadership history.
She is the first woman to ever hold the CEO position.
“When I started in my engineering career in design. There was a division of 305 people; there were four women engineers. And I was the only Black woman engineer there for years.”
“That title being the first, I actually feel very uncomfortable with that. The idea is, what have I done to make sure that I wasn’t the only one?”
Looking around her office, among her awards are photos of Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks.
“Two strong women with a history in transportation who remind me every day that what we do has a higher purpose. It’s just not moving people, it’s moving people with a purpose. It’s life. People going for jobs or sometimes for care at the hospital, people who help our patients.”
She is bilingual. Originally from Haiti, Beauboeuf can speak French, Creole, and English.
“I remember working at the Department of Transportation for the longest time. I used to say I should really be able to use my language, I should be able to use it in my professional life.”
Her career spans 40 years. First, a bridge designer and in construction at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), where she discovered her true passion.
Beauboeuf worked on projects like the I-75 reconstruction in Oakland County and the Gordie Howe Bridge.
“I learned that bringing people in, listening to them and really working with them would actually bring you a successful project.”
The Gordie Howe Bridge was a symbol of trust she helped build with the residents of Southwest Detroit.
“For the first time, we did a community benefit. We were told that’s impossible. We never do that on those projects, but we persevered. The city of Detroit was also a good partner.”
She said one of the moments in her career that really stood out was the opening of the bridge in Montreal.
Beauboeuf left MDOT for the private sector and, alas, got to bridge her experience and speaking French together.
“They were looking for someone with the skill set that I have and also was fluent in French.”
Another one of her proudest moments was passing her registration and her Professional Engineer license.
“It’s an eight-hour exam on all the fundamentals of engineering, which is electricity, physics, statistics, dynamics, all of that, computer science.”
She retired in August 2024 after 40 years in the industry when the tunnel job came calling.
Fun facts about the tunnel
Here are some fun facts to know about the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel:
- It never closes, except for a couple of hours a few times a year for emergency training and the Detroit Free Press marathon.
- They have their own vehicle retrieval network on-site for quick response time.
- They coordinated regularly with all units on both sides of the border for emergency training.
- Although right there at the border, it’s completely separate from Customs and Border Patrol and Homeland Security.