Happy 85th birthday, Detroit-Windsor Tunnel

Metro Detroit's underwater mile reached a milestone Tuesday.

The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, which connects the two cities under the Detroit River, has been open to the public for 85 years. It opened on Nov. 3, 1930.

“For those of us who grew up in the area, we can likely remember bombarding our parents with questions about how they got it under the water and how it works, while our parents drove us through for adventure across the border,” said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.

So what makes the tunnel so interesting? Consider this:

It took 26 months to build at a cost of $23 million, which is about $313 million in today's dollars.

The tunnel is 5,160 feet long, a few feet shy of a mile.

About 12,000 vehicles travel through the tunnel each day.

It's a part of the Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon course, giving runners bragging rights that they ran a mile underwater.

The tunnel is owned by Windsor and Detroit and is operated by an American company, Detroit Windsor Tunnel LLC.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.