Construction begins on Vancouver’s Broadway subway

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Construction has now started on Vancouver’s Broadway Subway — linking the Millenium Line to Arbutus and adding six more underground stations.

The 5.7-kilometre extension is expected to cost nearly three billion dollars, with two-thirds of that funding coming from Ottawa.

Set to be completed by 2025, it’s estimated that it will shave nearly half an hour off of commuters’ trips along the busy corridor, and the subway will have three times the capacity of the 99 B-Line bus that currently services the route. It will also significantly reduce congestion on the busy roadway.

During the construction phase, the project will create about 13,000 jobs.

“This is an exciting milestone for a critical infrastructure project that will transform the way people travel in and around the Broadway corridor and create good-paying jobs to support B.C.’s economic recovery,” Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming, says in a statement.

“Investments in public transit infrastructure are crucial to improving commute times, reducing carbon pollution and laying the foundation for strong economic growth.”

We’re kicking off major construction on the #BroadwaySubwayProject with partners @INFC_eng @TransLink & @CityofVancouver, to provide people in Metro Van with faster, more convenient, and more affordable travel.https://t.co/FBfOYbgfBU

— Rob Fleming (@Rob_Fleming) May 13, 2021

Efforts will be made to decrease both noise and traffic disruption, according to the province.

“The innovative engineering solution on the project involves drilling and placing vertical columns to support steel plates for the traffic decks. Traffic decks will keep people travelling through the station blocks on Broadway while excavation and construction continue underground,” a statement reads.

“The innovative engineering solution on the project involves drilling and placing vertical columns to support steel plates for the traffic decks. Traffic decks will keep people travelling through the station blocks on Broadway while excavation and construction continues underground.”

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Meantime, Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart says he will continue pushing for an extension of the subway line all the way to UBC.

“The subway cannot stop at Arbutus. I am pushing to get the subway extended to UBC to connect the largest research and innovation hub and employment centres in B.C. The TransLink Mayors’ Council is developing its next ten-year vision, and we need to make sure the subway from Arbutus to UBC is in that plan,” he writes in an email sent to supporters.

“The UBC extension — or UBCx — will connect the region’s transportation system, allowing one million residents within a 60-minutes trip of UBC faster and more affordable transit access. The extension will also help us meet vital climate goals by taking 3,000 auto trips every day off roads and onto our public transit system.”

Stewart is encouraging those who support an extension to UBC to fill out an online survey