Massey Tunnel replacement

What's being built

The Province calls the whole effort on this stretch of Highway 99 the Highway 99 Tunnel Program, and the new tunnel is its main piece: the Fraser River Tunnel Project. Transportation Investment Corporation, a provincial Crown corporation known as TI Corp, is delivering it. Older documents call it the George Massey Crossing Project, the name it carried when the tunnel was announced.

Like the old tunnel, the new one is an immersed tube. Six concrete sections, each about the size of a football field and weighing around 60,000 tonnes, are cast on Deas Island and stored until the riverbed is ready. A trench is dredged across the river. Tugboats guide each section into position, cables strung across the river hold it, and tanks of water inside it lower it into the trench. Gravel goes along its sides and boulders over the top, and the whole process is repeated six times.

The Province's reason for replacing the old tunnel is that it no longer meets the region's needs or modern seismic standards. The new one keeps the river's shipping channel at its current clearance.

Where it goes

The new tunnel crosses about 40 metres upstream of the old one, right beside it, and the old tunnel stays open while it's built. The project also builds a new eight-lane Deas Slough Bridge, over the slough south of the tunnel, and new connections to Highway 99 on both the Richmond and the Delta sides.

The tunnel sections are made on Deas Island, in a basin dug there. The project's plan also uses temporary jetties and a temporary bridge over Deas Slough to bring in materials and crews with less traffic on Highway 99 and local roads.

Lanes

There are eight lanes, four each way: three for general traffic and one for transit in each direction. The counterflow system goes, so the direction against the rush keeps three lanes all day instead of dropping to one while a lane is borrowed.

The Province says the new lanes will be wider and taller than today's, with shoulders, and that Highway 99 will carry traffic at around 80 km/h along the corridor once the work is done.

Transit

The two transit lanes are for buses, one in each direction, built to carry bus rapid transit. There's no rail: the Province looked at rail rapid transit through the crossing and concluded it wasn't warranted.

The bus lanes run well beyond the tunnel, from Ladner Trunk Road in Delta to Westminster Highway in Richmond. Some of that is already built: buses use shoulder lanes on Highway 99 between Ladner Trunk Road and Highway 17A that will tie into the new tunnel. Farther north, past Westminster Highway, the program has also finished a bus-only connection that links Bridgeport Road to the highway.

Walking and cycling

For the first time, you'll be able to walk or cycle across the river here. The path runs through the tunnel separated from traffic and connects to Richmond, Deas Island and Delta.

On the Delta side, the stretch of Millennium Trail in the highway right-of-way becomes a five-metre-wide paved path in place of the narrower gravel trail that was there before, with a direct link over Deas Slough to Deas Island.

Exactly where the path runs is still being designed. Draft drawings the project has shared put it along the east side of Highway 99 in Richmond and in Delta, and in the highway's median on Deas Island, but they're marked as drafts for discussion and subject to change.

For now, cyclists cross on the Province's shuttle. Our tunnel guide has the link.

What happens to the old tunnel

Once the new tunnel is in service, the old one is decommissioned. The project's most recent description of what that means, in its engagement report on the 2024 public consultation, has the old tunnel staying where it is and being filled in. Earlier plans had it removed, so treat filling it in as the current plan rather than a settled one. BC Hydro's transmission line, which runs through the old tunnel, has to be moved as part of the work.

What becomes of the existing Deas Slough Bridge isn't settled in public either. The project lists options for using it among its design work.

Timeline and cost

The schedule, the budget and the current stage of construction are on the project's overview page, under Schedule, Project Budget and Status, and the program's home page gives the year the new tunnel is expected to open. The Status line is also where the Province reports on the project's provincial environmental assessment, the approval the new tunnel needs before major construction can start.

We don't repeat any of it here. They've changed before, and the project's own monthly status reports have lagged behind its announcements, so the overview page is the one to trust.

Living with the construction

Construction notices, traffic changes and marine warnings go up on the project's Current Work page, and you can sign up for email notices for Delta, Richmond, Deas Island or marine work. Lane closures on Highway 99 for the work are posted there, and DriveBC shows what the highway is doing right now.

The project has a community office in Ladner, at 5180 Ladner Trunk Road, with displays and staff to answer questions. Its opening hours are on the contact page, along with a construction information line that answers at any hour.

If you walk or ride near the highway, expect interruptions. Parts of Millennium Trail beside Highway 99 close at times during construction, and while a section is closed you can't cross the highway on the trail there. In Deas Island Regional Park some trails are cut short or closed until the project is done, with no detours. The Province has committed to restoring the park's trails and natural areas with Metro Vancouver afterwards.

Questions and answers

What is replacing the George Massey Tunnel?

The Fraser River Tunnel: an eight-lane, toll-free immersed-tube tunnel about 40 metres upstream of the old one.

When will the new Massey Tunnel open?

The program's home page gives the year the Province expects it to open, and the project's overview page gives the expected completion year under Schedule. Both have moved before, so check there rather than trusting an older article.

How much will the new Massey Tunnel cost?

The current budget is on the project's overview page, under Project Budget.

Will the new tunnel have a toll?

No. The Province describes it as toll-free.

Will SkyTrain or rail run through the new tunnel?

No. Two of the eight lanes are for buses, built for bus rapid transit. The Province found that rail rapid transit through the crossing wasn't warranted.

Can you walk or bike through the new tunnel?

Yes. It has a walking and cycling path separated from traffic, the first at this crossing.

Does the old tunnel stay open during construction?

Yes. It stays open until the new tunnel is ready. Overnight lane closures happen from time to time, and they're posted on DriveBC and the project's Current Work page.

What happens to the old Massey Tunnel?

It's decommissioned once the new tunnel is in service. The project's latest description has it filled in and left in place.