Bob Mackin
The Broadway Subway project continues to forecast that it will stay within the $2.83 billion budget, but the revised completion and service dates were quietly omitted from monthly reports.
In the June project status report from the Transportation Investment Corporation, schedule topped the list of five “yellow light” items on the project delivery dashboard, requiring near-term action. The extension of SkyTrain’s Millennium Line already announced a delay last November from late 2025 to early 2026.
Arbutus Station construction site (Broadway Subway)
“The start of piling activities was delayed at some construction locations. Recovery measures have been implemented by Broadway Subway Project Corporation (BSPC) and are being monitored closely,” said the most-recently released report. “A five-week concrete supplier strike in June 2022 delayed the completion of the base slab at Great Northern Way, which impacted the start of tunnel boring. As a result, project completion has moved from late 2025 to early 2026.”
The report for last October included the previous schedule, which targeted substantial completion for Nov. 27, 2025, service commencement on Dec. 27, 2025 and total completion Feb. 28, 2026. The reports from November through February showed the target for substantial completion had been postponed until Jan. 8, 2026, service commencement to Feb. 7, 2026 and total completion to March 30, 2026.
Beginning with the April status report, the dates were omitted and the red flag project schedule icons moved slightly to the right.
The project reported spending $32.5 million in June for a total to date of $1.18 billion, including $382.7 million from the federal government so far and $100.3 million from the City of Vancouver.
The 5 kilometre subway and 700 metre elevated guideway will connect six underground stations from Great Northern Way-Emily Carr to Arbutus.
The report said there were six non-conformity reports in June about health and safety issues and construction quality processes. Of the 319 such reports during the project, 291 files were closed and 28 remained open.
The project reported a lost time injury frequency rate of 0.21 to date, less than the 2021 WorkSafeBC rate of 0.90 for heavy construction.
Broadway Subway timeline excerpts (Broadway Subway)
Schedule was one of the five project dashboard items assigned a yellow light ranking. The remaining six were all green lights. None was red, which would have denoted requiring immediate action to resolve.
Notes within the dashboard said discussions were progressing with B.C. Infrastructure Benefits, the Crown corporation in charge of hiring and supplying unionized workers, about workforce and permitting requirements. Discussions were also ongoing with TransLink and Canada Line about integration with their systems and developer PCI. Targets had been achieved for Indigenous contracting, but discussions continued about project agreements and Indigenous art and cultural recognition at stations.
The second tunnel boring machine, nicknamed Phyllis, for Girl Guides of B.C. founder Phyllis Munday, broke through at Broadway-City Hall Station in late May. The June report said both tunnel boring machines were at the site under Cambie and Broadway.
BSPC is the design/build joint venture between Acciona of Spain and Ghella of Italy. Acciona is also working on the Site C dam and Pattullo Bridge projects.
In early 2022, Metro Vancouver fired Acciona from the $1.058 billion North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant in North Vancouver over project delays, sparking duelling lawsuits filed in B.C. Supreme Court.
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