B.C. Conservatives promise 10-lane George Massey Bridge instead of eight-lane tunnel | Daily Hive

Lorne Doerkson's B.C. Conservatives promise 10-lane George Massey Bridge instead of $8.5-billion, eight-lane immersed tunnel

Cancelled: Artistic rendering of the previous 10-lane George Massey Bridge project. (Government of BC)

The Conservative Party of British Columbia is promising to cancel the BC NDP’s current project of building an $8.5-billion, eight-lane immersed tunnel to replace the aging, seismically-deficient, and congested George Massey Tunnel.

Instead, if elected, the party will revive the 10-lane bridge project that was cancelled shortly after the BC NDP formed provincial government in 2017.

Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson announced the commitment today, arguing that commuters and businesses have waited too long for relief from congestion on Highway 99 between Richmond and Delta.

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The party asserts that such a bridge would shorten commutes by up to 30 minutes and make deliveries and freight transportation more reliable.

The 10-lane bridge commitment would bring back a project planned under former Premier Christy Clark. Her previous BC Liberals-led provincial government announced its decision to replace the 1959-built, four-lane, counterflow-controlled tunnel with a bridge in 2013, with major construction planned to start in 2017 and for a completion in 2022.

The project’s estimated cost was $3.5 billion, including the 10-lane bridge, massive interchange improvements, and a widening of the Highway 99 corridor between the southern end of the Oak Street Bridge and Delta. This includes the ability to convert new bus-only lanes into a potential future SkyTrain extension. However, these components have largely been significantly downsized or scrapped entirely under the current BC NDP project for an immersed tunnel, with taxpayers now spending much more on the current project and corridor improvements for far less in return compared to the cancelled project.

Cancelled: Artistic rendering of the cancelled 10-lane bridge to replace the George Massey Tunnel. (Government of B.C.)

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Cancelled: Artistic rendering of the Highway 99 improvements, including bus lanes and a Highway 17a interchange bus stop, for the cancelled 10-lane George Massey Bridge project. (Government of BC)

Cancelled: Artistic rendering of the Highway 99 improvements, including bus lanes and a Highway 17A interchange bus stop, for the cancelled 10-lane George Massey Bridge project. (Government of B.C.)

Cancelled: Full scope of the cancelled 10-lane George Massey Bridge and Highway 99 corridor upgrade project. (Government of B.C.)

In 2017, technical design and planning work and the procurement process to seek a contractor was in a highly advanced stage when the BC NDP cancelled the 10-lane bridge, with the project just months away from starting construction at the time. One fixed-price bid came in at $2.6 billion, which was $900 million lower than the provincial government’s $3.5-billion estimate. Construction was scheduled to reach completion in 2022.

“Families in the Lower Mainland are stuck in traffic every day because the NDP cancelled a bridge that should already be open. My government will build it, on time and on budget,” said Doerkson.

Premier David Eby’s BC NDP-led provincial government has faced sharp criticism over the delays and escalating cost of the eight-lane immersed tunnel, which was initially estimated at about $4.15 billion during the project’s business case planning process in 2020 and 2021.

The BC NDP has often countered any criticism on the project by emphasizing that the previous provincial government’s planned 10-lane bridge would have been tolled, while its alternative project of an immersed tunnel would be toll-free.

In June 2026, the BC NDP-led provincial government announced it had terminated its agreement with the European-led private consortium selected in July 2024 to advance the project. The consortium included international companies with extensive experience designing and building complex tunnels, including previously leading the work on the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France.

The decision fuelled speculation about whether geotechnical and engineering challenges and financial risks of the new George Massey immersed tunnel concept had proved too difficult even for some of the world’s most experienced tunnel builders. The provincial government rejected that speculation, and it subsequently launched a new bidding process that divided the work into five smaller contracts, rather than replicating the single large contract held by the fired consortium. It also argued this approach would give domestic companies more opportunities to compete and help control costs.

Bidding is now well underway for two of those contracts, with the procurement process for the remaining three contracts expected to begin in 2027.

Concept of the new replacement George Massey Tunnel. (Government of B.C.)

Concept visual of the manufacturing facility on Deas Island for the new George Massey Tunnel segments. (Government of B.C.)

Concept visual of cables being used to position and lower the segments of the new George Massey Tunnel into the trench on the bed of the Fraser River. (Government of B.C.)

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Concept of the new replacement George Massey Tunnel. (Government of B.C.)

2024 revised concept of the new replacement George Massey Tunnel. (Government of B.C.)

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Preliminary artistic rendering of the new replacement George Massey Tunnel. (Government of B.C.)

Preliminary artistic rendering of the new Deas Island Bridge at the southern end of the new replacement George Massey Tunnel. (Government of BC)

Major construction work is now expected to begin in 2027, a year later than previously planned, with completion and opening targeted for September 2031 instead of December 2030.

However, in order for the project to enter the major construction phase, this depends on the timely approval of the provincial government’s environmental assessment process, which first began in 2021 and was supposed to finish by late 2024 or 2025. The environmental assessment is now expected to conclude in late 2026.

Then in July 2026, Eby’s administration announced the tunnel’s estimated cost had climbed to $8.5 billion — more than double the previous $4.15-billion estimate. The provincial government attributed the increase to pandemic-induced market cost inflation on the prices for construction labour, equipment, and materials, changes to the project’s scope, and scheduling requirements. Construction would involve excavating a trench in the Fraser River bed and lowering prefabricated concrete tunnel segments into place. There would also be a new 350-metre-long Deas Island Bridge at the southern end of the tunnel.

The $8.5-billion estimate remains subject to change as bids are received and the five contracts are finalized.

However, today’s Conservative announcement did not include a construction start date, opening target, or updated budget for the proposed return to a 10-lane bridge.

Site preparation and early construction activities for the immersed tunnel are already underway. This light work began in January 2026 and includes clearing land, relocating utilities, and preparing construction facilities ahead of the start of major construction.

When the BC NDP cancelled the 10-lane bridge in 2017, it had forfeited about $100 million on sunk costs such as technical design and planning, and site preparation and early construction work.

Switching to a bridge would also raise questions about the federal government’s commitment to contribute up to $3 billion toward the tunnel.

new george massey tunnel preliminary construction work may 21 2026

Site preparation and preliminary construction work for the new George Massey Tunnel, next to the south end of the existing tunnel as seen on May 21, 2026. (Government of B.C.)

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Preliminary construction and site preparation work next to the south end of the existing George Massey Tunnel for the future new immersed tunnel project, as seen on June 1, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

For electing MLAs in provincial ridings and to help determine which provincial party will form the next provincial government, the provincial general election’s main voting day is Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, with advance voting taking place over a six-day period from Friday, Oct. 16 to Wednesday, Oct. 21.

The municipal election’s main voting day is Saturday, Oct. 17, a full week before the provincial election. This separate election will fill municipal government positions for mayor, City Council, and other local representatives.

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