A $3.5 billion bridge will replace the George Massey Tunnel in B.C. The new 10-lane bridge will be built over the Fraser River at Highway 99 over the tunnel, making it the largest bridge in province.
“The new bridge to replace the Massey Tunnel will improve highway safety, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from unnecessary idling, and save rush-hour commuters up to 30 minutes a day,” said B.C. Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone.
“This will be the largest bridge ever built in B.C. When completed, it will address what is now the worst traffic bottleneck in the province and bring travel time reliability to one of our most important transportation corridors, serving national, provincial and regional economies.”
The current tunnel is nearing its end of life, and no longer meets modern standards for seismic safety. Many of its major components have about 10 years of useful life remaining before they need to be replaced, including the lighting, ventilation and pumping systems.
The bridge, which will be paid for through user tolls, will offer important safety benefits that include: a design that meets modern seismic standards; additional lanes that make merging safer for all vehicles and will reduce an estimated 35% of collisions; and wider lanes and shoulders that will improve safety and emergency response times.
The bridge will be approximately three kilometres long, with four general travel lanes and one transit/HOV lane in each direction. Once constructed, it will cut some commute times in half and also improve travel time reliability for the 10,000 transit passengers and 80,000 vehicles that use the tunnel each day.
Other project components include new interchanges at Highway 17A, Steveston Highway and Westminster Highway and widening approximately 24 kilometres of Highway 99 to include one dedicated transit/HOV lane in each direction from Highway 91 in Delta to Bridgeport Road in Richmond, tying into existing infrastructure.
The third phase of public consultation on the project is underway through Jan. 28, 2016. Following completion of Phase 3 consultation, the ministry will finalize the project scope and cost estimate, and submit the project application for environmental review.
Final decisions made by government will take into consideration the feedback received, along with remaining technical studies and the environmental review. Construction will begin in 2017.
