Windsor mayor frustrated with 'lack of communication' from U.S. about tunnel

There is still no official end date to the ceiling construction on the Detroit-Windsor tunnel that was supposed to be completed in June.

Windsor's mayor Drew Dilkens expressed his frustration at the slow progress.

"We want this project completed. We want it done well. We want to make sure that it's safe for the next one hundred years,"Dilkenssaid.

"But certainly, the length of time, and I would say the lack of communication that we've been getting from the U.S. side has actually caused us concern."

Last month Carolyn Brown, CEO of the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel on the Canadian side told CBC News there was a problem with the hangers for the roofing.

Windsor-Detroit Tunnel tour

7 years ago

Duration 0:37

Check out construction inside the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel

Brown explained that once the ceiling was down, workers realizedthe new hangers which would support the new roofing were larger than the hangers used previously.

What that meant for the construction was that a central rack, housing important tunnel safety lines including a fire alarm system and carbon dioxide monitors, would need to be removed.

Therack was supposed to be removed before the ceiling work began, but a U.S. Detroit-Windsor Tunnel project manager decided to keep it in place, Brown said.

"We're still duking that out with the contractor," said Brown, in June. "The contractor will not commit to anend date until that centre rack is removed."

Dilkens said he hopes to see the tunnel open as soon as possible, but most recently, he was told it should be ready by fall.

Neal Belitsky, the CEO on the American side of the tunnel, has not responded to requests for an interview.