B.C. gives behind-the-scenes look at the Broadway subway, still aiming for 2027 launch
It's still more than two years from coming into service, but there's no question Vancouver's Broadway subway is starting to take shape.
The province offered the public a sneak peek behind the scenes on the $2.95 billion project, which will see the SkyTrain Millennium line extended from its current terminus of VCC-Clark station to Arbutus Street on the city's west side.
'This line alone will be able to carry at any one time more than three times the capacity of the 99 B-Line, so it is going to be a significant improvement,' Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth said.
4:12
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'When this is complete with this project and the completion of the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain project, that is going to increase the capacity of the SkyTrain system by more than 27 per cent.'
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Once complete, the 5.7-kilometre extension will whisk passengers from VCC-Clark to Arbutus Station in about 11 minutes.
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The massive project is currently employing some 750 tradespeople, many of them currently working on the extension's six three-level underground stations.
Crews finished boring the subway's twin five-kilometre tunnels last spring; those tunnels are now clad in concrete and the current focus is on laying track, which is being hauled in in 400-metre lengths.
Work on the subway began in 2020, with an initial target completion date of 2025.
The completion date has since been pushed back to the fall of 2027, with the province citing a variety of factors including the COVID-19 pandemic, a five-week concrete strike, and unexpected challenges with tunnel boring.
1:48
Completion dates for Broadway subway, Pattullo Bridge pushed back
'Whenever a tunnel-boring machine's going through, there're always issues that come along the way that … slow it down a bit,' Farnworth said.
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'We're still on time for the fall of 2027.'
Extending the line from Arbutus to UBC remains a priority for TransLink, which has included the concept in the second half of its latest 10-year plan.
However, despite support from the university and the City of Vancouver, that extension remains unfunded with no specific cash commitment from either the provincial or federal governments.
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