Main Street Tunnel technique, whereby the tunnel was excavated, the concrete poured, and the structure buried, on top of which the canal channel was built. This avoided costly boring beneath an active waterway; the structure cost C$11 million. This price was split 50–50 between Transport Canada and the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority. The tunnel opened with a parade featuring the Welland Police pipe band and various officials on the morning of May 20, 1972. Main Street Tunnel The Main Street Tunnel, located in Welland, Ontario, Canada, is an underwater tunnel, carrying Niagara Road 27 and the unsigned designation of Highway 7146 under the
Intercontinental and transoceanic fixed links links across the channel for vehicles. A road tunnel was proposed in 1979, but not considered viable. Construction of the Channel Tunnel started in 1988 and the tunnel opened in 1994. Automobiles and lorries/transport trucks are loaded onto the Eurotunnel Shuttle's enclosed railway cars (similar to auto rack/motorail railway cars) for the trip through the tunnel, however. A service tunnel runs the entire length of the crossing, but is closed to general use and used only during emergencies and for maintenance. Various ferry services link Ireland to Britain and France. A number of options for an Irish Sea fixed crossing