Construction for Commercial-Broadway Station upgrades begins this spring

Metro Vancouver’s busiest transit hub is about to become a whole lot busier with renovations to improve and expand the station finally set to get underway.

Construction at Commercial-Broadway Station is scheduled to begin later this spring to address the station’s major foot traffic choke points and increase the capacity of the station.

The station struggles to handle its existing foot traffic volumes of 90,000 train trips and 60,000 bus trips, and this is expected to increase by 25 per cent in 2016 when the SkyTrain Evergreen Line opens for service.

According to TransLink, the upgrades will occur over three construction phases ending in the spring of 2017, with improvements slated to include:

• A new fourth platform serving the inbound train direction into downtown Vancouver. A rear portion of the adjacent Safeway building has already been demolished to make way for expanded concourse space, widened entrance and the additional platform.
• A new secondary pedestrian walkway above Broadway to link the Expo and Millennium line platforms.
• A widened crossing over the Grandview Cut rail line to reach the Millennium Line platforms.
• Additional elevators, staircases, and up and down escalators.
• New design features to improve safety and security of passengers.

There will be some disruptions to allow for construction to occur. During certain periods from Spring 2015 to Spring 2017, passengers can expect:

• A temporary relocation of the 99 B-Line and No. 9 trolley bus stops.
• A temporary closure of the west staircase.
• Minor changes to SkyTrain and bus service.
• Existing pedestrian crossing over the Grandview Cut will be narrowed on a temporary basis.
• Broadway Station platform widths will be reduced in some areas to allow for temporary construction hoarding.

The impact from construction at Commercial-Broadway Station should be less disruptive than the ongoing work at Main Street-Science World and Metrotown stations. Upgrades at Main Street-Science World are nearing an end to the extent that the West entrance to the station should reopen by early-summer.

Funding for the $60-million Commercial Drive-Broadway Station upgrade and six other station upgrade projects have been approved as a part of TransLink’s 2014 Base Plan. TransLink will cover 41 per cent of the Commercial-Broadway Station upgrade costs while the provincial government will contribute 39 per cent and the federal government with the remaining 20 per cent.

Click on the image for an expanded version of the diagram.

Existing station flow

Future station flow