Work on the ceiling of the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel, which has closed it nightly for over a year now, may not finish until March according to the CEO on the Windsor side of the crossing.
Carolyn Brown said while contractors worked to replace the ceiling in the 87-year-old tunnel, they found a new issue that could not wait.
"There's two bent slab sections at either end of the tunnel. When we chipped away at the concrete we discovered that the I beams that supported the ceiling in those particular areas actually needed to be replaced," she explained.
"What we're trying to do right now is get the contractor to work simultaneously on cleaning up the remainder of the original contract and then simultaneously do this additional work," Brown said.
How much the new work will add to the project's $17-million price tag is not yet known. Brown says the contractor will have an estimate in January.
At the end of October, Director of Tunnel Operations, Robert Howell said cost increases accrued by that point would be covered by a contingency fund built into the project's original budget.
The tunnel first shut down for the project in October 2017 and was expected to reopen by late spring of this year, but the project has been delayed time and time again. The last projection suggested the border crossing would be fully open by the end of 2018.
Brown told BlackburnNews.com the project has impacted revenues. By how much, she was not sure, but she suggested travellers have changed their routines so the loss may not be as significant as first thought.
"Because people have adjusted their travel times to the openings and closings of the tunnel, our losses have been mitigated somewhat," said Brown.
The tunnel will be open New Year's Eve for those crossing the border for celebrations.