B.C. Fires European Contractor for George Massey Tunnel
Province terminates Cross Fraser Partnership deal, moves to new procurement process; major construction now targeted for 2027.
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British Columbia has terminated its agreement with the European consortium previously selected to design and build the replacement George Massey Tunnel, reversing a contract award made in July 2024.
The provincial government exercised a built-in termination option and is launching a new procurement process. The move shifts the project timeline: major construction work is now targeted to begin in 2027 instead of 2026. The environmental assessment process, which began in 2021, is anticipated to conclude by the end of 2026.
Cross Fraser Partnership—led by France-based Bouygues Construction in partnership with Spanish firm Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, Quebec-based Pomerleau, engineering firm Arcadis, and Netherlands-based Boskalis—had been working with the province on design and early works since September 2024. Bouygues is known for its role building the 50-km Channel Tunnel between France and the United Kingdom.
"We've received good value from the contractor and have made steady progress with the design," said Mike Farnworth, B.C. minister of transportation and transit. "However, this project is critical to British Columbia's future, and we are taking this back to a competitive process to seek the best possible value for taxpayers."
Unlike the previous single-contractor approach, the new bidding process will split the work into several separate packages—a model used for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain project and Fraser Valley Highway 1 expansion. The province says breaking up the contracts will strengthen competition and engage more local contractors.