Detroit–Windsor Tunnel Border wait times

What cannot use the tunnel

This is the most restricted of the three crossings. Check this before you set out — several vehicles that can use the bridges cannot come through here at all.

Motorcycles and scooters

Not permitted

Bicycles and e-bikes

Not permitted

Hazardous materials

Not permitted

Maximum height

12 ft 8 in (3.86 m)

Maximum width

8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)

Maximum weight

145,000 lb (65,770 kg)

The operator also notes a 30-degree curve in the pillar section. If you are over either limit, or on a motorcycle or a bike, use the Ambassador Bridge or the Gordie Howe Bridge instead — the Gordie Howe Bridge is the only one of the three with a cycling path.

Limits are published by the tunnel operator; check with them before travelling with anything oversized.

Crossing without a car

There is no pedestrian walkway through the tunnel, and bicycles are not allowed. The bus is the only way through on foot.

The Linq Tunnel Bus, which replaced the earlier Transit Windsor service, carries foot passengers through the tunnel.

Board in Windsor at

Bruce Ave & Riverside Dr W

Detroit stops

Washington & Jefferson · Cass & Michigan

Fare, one way

$17.50 · card only

The Windsor stop is not at the tunnel plaza. Boarding is at Bruce Avenue and Riverside Drive West, roughly a kilometre west of the tunnel entrance. In Detroit there is also a pick-up-only stop at the Tunnel Plaza by Mariners’ Church, and a drop-off-only stop at McDougall and University back in Windsor.

The bus runs limited hours rather than around the clock, so check the current schedule before relying on it. Fare is as published on 5 August 2026 and is payable by debit or credit card only. Bus passengers still clear customs, so the waits above still apply.

Tolls

The tunnel does not accept cash — in either direction. Tolls are payable by debit or credit card, a Nexpress card, or the tunnel app. Arriving with only banknotes means you cannot cross. Both bridges do take cash, so this catches people out.

Unlike the two bridges, the tunnel charges a different rate each way, in the currency of the side you leave from.

A second height rule applies to pricing. Anything 8 ft (2.45 m) or taller — including the load and any trailer — is billed as an extra-load vehicle at higher, per-axle rates, well before it reaches the 12 ft 8 in physical limit. A tall RV or a roof-loaded van can be charged as a truck.

Rates above took effect 1 January 2026 and are the only ones of the three crossings not yet changed since the Gordie Howe Bridge opened. The tunnel also sells a mobile-app rate, but the operator’s own listing is ambiguous about whether that price is one way or a round trip, so confirm it in the app rather than budgeting from here.

The two plazas are run by different operators, so check dwtunnel.com for U.S.-bound rates and takethetunnel.com for Canada-bound.

Ready Lane hours

A Ready Lane is a quicker U.S.-bound lane for travellers carrying a card with a chip the booth can read from a distance: an enhanced licence, a U.S. passport card, or a NEXUS, SENTRI, Global Entry or FAST card. An ordinary passport book does not count — its chip cannot be read the same way.

Everyone in the vehicle aged 16 or over needs an eligible card. One passenger carrying only a passport book disqualifies the whole car, so it is worth checking before you commit to the lane.

Lane assignment varies by plaza and by time of day — follow the Ready Lane signage at the booth rather than assuming a particular lane.

As checked on 5 August 2026, CBP advertised one here from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, Monday to Friday. CBP can change that without telling anyone, and this page will not update itself — if the Ready Lane is your reason for choosing the tunnel, confirm it on the CBP wait times page first.

About this crossing

The Detroit–Windsor Tunnel opened in 1930 and runs under the Detroit River between the two downtowns. It is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, apart from rare announced closures for emergency training exercises and the Detroit Free Press Marathon.

It is jointly owned by the cities of Detroit and Windsor: Detroit Windsor Tunnel LLC runs the Detroit side and Windsor Detroit Borderlink, a City of Windsor company, runs the Windsor side.

Because both portals sit in the two downtowns, it is usually the shortest crossing for city-centre trips — but it is also the most size-restricted of the three.

How to read the times above

“Reported” is when the agency observed the wait. “Feed checked” is when Border Delays last looked for new data — we check every five minutes, but CBP and CBSA publish roughly hourly, so a reading can be accurate and still be up to an hour old.

Agency figures generally measure the inspection queue, not the approach roads. Operator-announced full closures may not appear in agency data at all.