BC Conservatives vow to scrap Massey Tunnel replacement in favour of 10-lane bridge

The BC Conservatives have promised to scrap plans to replace the Massey Tunnel with an underground crossing in favour of a 10-lane bridge.

Leader Lorne Doerkson argued that an aerial span would better serve the region, and that had the BC NDP not cancelled the originally-planned bridge, drivers would already be making the crossing.

"After nine years of David Eby and the NDP, British Columbia stopped building," he said in a press release. "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."

It has been over 10 years since Victoria first unveiled plans to replace the aging span. In 2013, the BC Liberals under then-premier Christy Clark proposed a $3.5 billion bridge to replace the aging tunnel. Local mayors expressed frustration over lack of consultation, and when the BC NDP took power, Clark's successor John Horgan scrapped the bridge idea after $100 million had already been spent.

Massey Tunnel replacement to cost $8.5 billion, open in 2031

Ottawa has vowed to foot one-third of the bill.

Sitka MediaJarryd Jäger

In July, the government revealed that the new Massey Tunnel would cost $8.5 billion — more than double the original estimate. Major construction is slated to begin in 2027.

The BC Conservatives have long argued that a bridge is superior to a tunnel.

Transport critic maintains new Massey Tunnel should have been a bridge

"There could have been a new ten lane bridge already built three years ago," he lamented.

Sitka MediaJarryd Jäger

Former Transportation Critic Harman Bhangu told Sitka Media in June that a bridge would outperform a tunnel when it comes to facilitating public transit, noting that "SkyTrain expansion that could have been put along the bridge would have been very key to connecting communities, especially when we're trying to get down to the valley."

In response to that claim, BC NDP leader David Eby pointed out that the tunnel "has dedicated transit lanes," though he did not say whether it could accommodate SkyTrain.