BC's Massey Tunnel replacement cost nearly doubles to $8.5 billion, opening delayed to 2031
Eight-lane submersed tube will cost nearly twice the 2021 estimate; federal government contributes $3 billion.
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British Columbia's George Massey Tunnel replacement will cost approximately $8.5 billion and open in September 2031—nearly double the 2021 estimate of $4.15 billion and nearly a year later than originally planned.
Transportation and Transit Minister Mike Farnworth announced Monday that the revised budget reflects today's market conditions, inflation, project scope, and the complexity of delivering a major infrastructure project. The federal government has committed to contributing $3 billion as part of a recently signed memorandum of understanding.
The province cancelled its contract with Cross Fraser Partnership but says the project will proceed as planned. Pre-construction work is underway, the environmental assessment is expected to conclude by year's end, and major construction is set to begin in 2027.
Farnworth said the new cost estimate doesn't include additional features such as a second exit in Ladner, which Delta has long sought. "At this point, that is not part of the overall project," he said. "That's not to say that it cannot be, in the future."
BC Conservative MLA Ian Paton questioned how the project can finish by 2031 when the environmental assessment isn't done and the contractor was just fired. "There's no talk of who's even going to build this tunnel," Paton told Black Press Media, noting that a proposed bridge project in 2017 would likely be finished by now at a fraction of the cost.
