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The start of construction for the George Massey Tunnel replacement project is one step closer after the provincial government issued environmental assessment certificate.

The assessment included assurances that the bridge development wouldn’t have an impact on fish or fish habitat and that tunnel decommissioning would not result in changes to the size of vessels using the Fraser River.

The project involves design, build, partially finance, operate, maintain (DBFOM) of a new 10 lanes 3.3 km cable-stay bridge, the replacement of three key interchanges, and the upgrade of 24 km of the Highway 99. The bridge will have four general traffic lanes, one lane dedicated for high occupancy vehicles (HOV) and transit, and a multi-use pathway for pedestrians. It will also accommodate future SkyTrain line extension. 

The new bridge will replace the 1959-opened George Massey Tunnel under the Fraser River. It will be used by approximately 10,000 transit passengers and 80,00 vehicles per day. The new additional lanes are expected to increase the capacity alleviating the traffic and reducing collisions by an estimated 35%.

The concession contract will have a period of 30 years and the total project investment is estimated at CAD$3.5 billion (US$2.7 billion). 

As we reported in early October the Transportation Investment Corporation of British Columbia (Canada)  launched the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the George Massey Tunnel replacement PPP project. The deadline is on or before March 15, 2017.