B.C. Massey Tunnel update reaffirms leaders’ commitment to current plan

B.C.’s George Massey Tunnel replacement and Highway 99 corridor revitilization project includes plans to build a bus connection along Bridgeport Road, and a multi-use pathway along the Oak Street Bridge, the province reiterated in a project update Friday.

In addition to an eight-lane tunnel connecting Richmond and Delta to replace the aging George Massey Tunnel, the province had previously announced the multi-billion dollar project would include a Bridgeport Road bus connection, Highway 99 and 17 off-ramp widening, bus lanes on Highway 99, and a replacement of the Steveston Interchange.

“Along with this new lane there’s important improvements included in this contract,” Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Rob Fleming said Friday.

“The creation of a new multi-use pathway from the Oak Street Bridge into the Richmond cycling and pedestrian network, transit improvements at the highway 99/17 A interchange and improvements to transportation facilities at the highway 99/17 A interchange, including a new bus shuttle stop new ramp crossings, and better connections into the Delta network.”

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Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie says he and his council approve of the bus lanes and focus on alternative transportation to vehicles.

“They save it if you can have one bus that is filled that’s going to take some 50 cars off the road and I think that we don’t emphasize this point enough that a large portion of the solution to decongestion is in fact getting people out of their cars and having the buses available reliably, safely, and efficiently, so that they can take the bus and make their commute very effectively,” he said.

The Bridgeport Road bus connection and highway widening are scheduled to be completed by late this year, while the bus lanes and interchange improvements are supposed to be done by late 2023 and late 2025 respectively.

“The Steveston interchange going from two lanes to five will reduce the conflict and some of the congestion that is related to that crossover currently,” Fleming said. “So more efficient turning lanes, more capacity to get over the highway will increase, in the intermediate phase before we replaced the tunnel, the efficiency of the current 99 corridor.”

The new tunnel is slated to be open sometime in 2030.

The BC NDP announced last summer a new tunnel would replace the aging one, rather than a bridge.

At the time, the province said the toll-free crossing would feature two lanes dedicated to bus transit, as well as separated pathways for cyclists and pedestrians.

In August 2021, the BC NDP estimated the cost to be $4.15 billion.

The Massey Tunnel sees backups almost daily, and has been referred to by many as the worst traffic bottleneck in Metro Vancouver.

-With files from The Canadian Press