BC NDP's David Eby argues new George Massey Tunnel has passed the point of no return, with early construction works well underway

Is it too late to cancel the current project to build an immersed tunnel in favour of a new bridge project to replace the aging and seismically unstable George Massey Tunnel?

Premier David Eby is arguing that construction of his BC NDP-led provincial government’s new George Massey Tunnel has advanced too far to justify abandoning it, warning that switching to a bridge would disrupt work, threaten jobs, and put significant funding from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s federal government at risk.

Since January 2026, early construction works and site preparation have been underway for the immersed tunnel, with crews actively working at the Deas Island site — next to the southern entrance of the existing tunnel. This preliminary construction activity includes land clearing, utility relocations, and preparations for the temporary major facilities needed to build the new eight-lane immersed tunnel, such as a large basin to cast and float out the tunnel’s prefabricated concrete segments.

Major construction is expected to begin in 2027, with the provincial government’s environmental assessment review now anticipated to conclude before the end of 2026 — behind the review’s original schedule of a completion by late 2024 or 2025. That review process first began in 2021, when the BC NDP administration first confirmed they would proceed with an immersed tunnel project.

Speaking at the project’s early works construction site today, Premier Eby rejected Conservative Party of British Columbia leader Lorne Doerkson’s election platform announcement yesterday to cancel the $8.5-billion immersed tunnel and revive the plans for a 10-lane bridge.

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“The idea that we would abandon this project at this stage is the stupidest idea I have ever heard,” said Eby today.

“We’re building the tunnel. We’re going to build it for British Columbians. It’s underway, you can see it behind me, it’s really happening.”

Pointing to the activity around him, Eby questioned how stopping work and starting over could deliver a cheaper replacement crossing without further delays. He said the preparations now being made had already taken a year and predicted another dozen cranes would be operating at the site within a few months.

“I can’t, I just try to imagine the thinking that you stop all this, tear everything out, start again and then pretend to British Columbians it’s going to cost less and be delivered on the same time,” said the BC NDP leader.

Eby also challenged Doerkson to visit the site to see the hundreds of people working on the project.

In essence, the BC NDP leader was opposing the same kind of reversal his own party made in 2017 when it cancelled the previous 10-lane bridge project, which had reached a similar stage of progress.

While there is currently construction activity at the site, the major contracts for the immersed tunnel have not been awarded, with the provincial government restarting the procurement process this past spring.

The provincial government overhauled the project’s procurement process in June 2026 after firing the original European private consortium, which was previously selected in Summer 2024 to design and build the project. Instead, the new process splits the work into five smaller contracts instead of one large contract. This is intended to increase bid competition, create more opportunities for domestic companies, and help control costs.

Procurement for the first two contracts began in June 2026, with successful companies expected to be selected by early 2027. Bidding for the remaining three contracts is scheduled to take place in 2027.

Earlier this week, the Conservative leader argued the BC NDP-led provincial government’s cancellation of the previous project nearly a decade ago had left commuters enduring years of unnecessary congestion.

The original 10-lane bridge concept was spearheaded by the previous BC Liberals-led provincial government of then-Premier Christy Clark. It also included major new interchanges, a widening of the Highway 99 corridor between the south end of the Oak Street Bridge and Delta, and very extensive bus rapid transit infrastructure with purpose-built, bus-only lanes, which were intended to be potentially converted for a SkyTrain extension at some point in the future. This $3.5-billion project was cancelled a few months after then-Premier John Horgan and the BC NDP took office in 2017, when the project had reached a similar stage of early construction works and site preparation progress.

That decision to cancel the 10-lane bridge — even though the project was just months away from a contract award and the start of major construction — led to the provincial government forfeiting about $100 million that had already been spent on design, planning, and the early works. At the time, the provincial government had also received a notably low fixed-price bid that came in at $2.6 billion, which was $900 million lower than the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Transit’s $3.5-billion estimate.

It is not immediately clear how much has already been spent by the BC NDP-led provincial government to date on advancing the overall “Fraser River Tunnel Project,” but it is certainly in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars — including the project’s downsized Highway 99 upgrades (which were significantly downsized compared to the components outlined for the 10-lane bridge) such as recently completed new Steveston Highway interchange and the bus-on-shoulder lanes.

Eby’s objections to Doerkson’s bridge proposal extended to the federal government’s financial contribution toward the tunnel. Prime Minister Carney announced up to $3 billion in funding for the project this past summer. It is unclear whether the contribution could be easily redirected to a bridge concept, but the BC NDP leader warns that it could disappear.

“We have three billion dollars in federal funding that would be vaporised by the Conservatives announcement with no explanation of where they’re going to get that money from,” said Eby today.

However, there is some local precedent for redirecting committed federal transportation infrastructure funding. After the Surrey Newton-Guildford LRT project was cancelled in 2018, its allocated funding — including the federal contribution — was eventually formally transferred to the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain project that replaced it.

Eby also invoked the tolls planned for the previous 10-lane bridge proposal. The original bridge project by the BC Liberals did include tolls, while the BC NDP’s eight-lane immersed tunnel is intended to be toll-free.

This crossing replacement project has reignited as a major issue ahead of the provincial general election on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, especially after a substantial increase in the tunnel’s estimated cost. When the BC NDP-led provincial government first confirmed in 2021 it would proceed with the project as an immersed tunnel, it had a $4.15-billion budget and a target opening in 2030. In July 2026, the estimated cost rose to $8.5 billion, while the expected completion date was pushed back to September 2031.

The original 10-lane bridge project was cancelled for reasons that included the believe that it was too big with too many vehicle lanes, and that it was opposed by some municipal governments, including the vocal opposition of the City of Richmond at the time, which had expressed a desire to see tunnelled solution. The bridge was also very strongly opposed by the Green Party of British Columbia, which the new BC NDP-led provincial government in 2017 relied on to keep their minority power, after defeating Christy Clark’s BC Liberal minority government by joining forces.

A regional task force comprised of select mayors of Metro Vancouver was formed shortly after the bridge project’s cancellation, with that task force later recommending that an immersed tunnel be built instead of a bridge. The BC NDP-led provincial government followed their recommendation in advancing their alternative project.

The original bridge was not the only major infrastructure project the BC NDP reconsidered shortly after taking office in 2017.

Their administration also reviewed whether to cancel the Site C hydroelectric dam, which was already well under construction. At the time, the project’s staunch opponents, including then-Premier Horgan and the BC Greens, questioned its cost, environmental impacts, and whether the additional electricity was needed.

However, Horgan ultimately decided to continue construction to completion, arguing that cancellation would leave British Columbians with billions of dollars in costs with nothing to show for. At the time, the provincial government cited approximately $2.1 billion in construction and planning expenditures expected by the end of 2017, plus an estimated $1.8 billion in additional costs to terminate the project and restore the site.

Site C became fully operational in 2025, when the last of its six generating units entered service. In May 2026, the BC NDP government officially named it the John Horgan Dam and Generating Station, honouring the late premier’s decision to see the project through.

Meanwhile, BC Hydro is seeking additional power supplies to meet rising electricity demand driven by population and economic growth, along with the shift from fossil fuels to electricity in buildings, transportation, and industry. Its long-term planning includes exploring potential major new hydroelectric projects.

You might also like:
• Lorne Doerkson's B.C. Conservatives promise 10-lane George Massey Bridge instead of $8.5-billion, eight-lane immersed tunnel
• Federal government commits up to $3 billion for new replacement George Massey Tunnel
• European contractor to build new George Massey Tunnel fired by B.C. government
• Cancelled 10-lane George Massey Bridge plan was designed to enable future new SkyTrain line
• This is how the new George Massey Tunnel will be built