Shovels are set to be in the ground this fall for the much anticipated Broadway SkyTrain extension from Commercial station all the way to Arbutus Street in Vancouver.
B.C. Premier John Horgan says the project is expected to be completed by 2025. The construction contract has been awarded to Acciona-Ghella Joint Venture.
The contract to fund the 5.7 kilometre extension is valued at $1.729 billion and covers the design, construction and partial financing of the project.
The cost estimate for the Millennium Line Broadway expansion has now gone up from $1.98-billion in 2015 up to $2.83 billion.
“As we restore the economy through B.C.’s Restart Plan, major infrastructure projects like the Broadway Subway line will be key to our recovery,” Horgan said.
“When completed, the Broadway Subway will transform how people get around in Vancouver. It will mean faster travel to work and school, better access to local business and fewer cars on the road.”
The project is funded under the Mayors’ Council Phase 2 of transit expansion in Metro Vancouver.
The project was delayed when residents in the region rejected an increase in 2014 to the PST in order to fund the project. Following the 2017 provincial election, both the BC NDP and the federal government increased investments in the project and the municipalities created a funding formula to pay for its share.
“We are starting on the Broadway subway. It is just totally amazing and I am just so excited about it,” Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart said.
“The Broadway subway line means less congestion and thousands of well-paying construction jobs.”
Once opened, the commute from VCC-Clark to Arbutus Station will take 11 minutes, saving the average transit commuter almost 30 minutes a day and relieving traffic congestion along Broadway.
“The Broadway Subway is being constructed along the busiest bus corridor in our region, which was also home to the most used bus route in Canada and the United States last year,” TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond said.
“This important project will transform the region’s transportation network, reduce congestion and improve travel times for our customers.”