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George Massey Tunnel Replacement gets environmental approval

The Canadian province of British Columbia has given environmental approval for a 10-lane US$2.8 billion bridge to replace the ageing George Massey Tunnel near Vancouver. However, approval for the 3km cable stay bridge over the Fraser River comes with 33 conditions, according to Canadian media. Construction of the toll bridge will also mean replacing the interchanges of Westminster Highway, Steveston Highway and Highway 17A.
February 13, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The Canadian province of British Columbia has given environmental approval for a 10-lane US$2.8 billion bridge to replace the ageing George Massey Tunnel near Vancouver.

However, approval for the 3km cable stay bridge over the Fraser River comes with 33 conditions, according to Canadian media.

Construction of the toll bridge will also mean replacing the interchanges of Westminster Highway, Steveston Highway and Highway 17A.

The western Canadian project – called the George Massey Tunnel Replacement - still requires federal, provincial and local government permits before it can be given the green light for construction, expected to start this year for completion by 2022. An official name for the bridge has yet to be chosen.

Three consortia are vying for the project to which is intended to replace the existing George Massey Tunnel. One consortium is headed by Spanish company ACS and its local subsidiaries and also includes Star America Infrastructure Partners and Aecon. Another of the competing consortia is comprised of Kiewit, 2378 Macquarie and 5177 Vinci. The third consortium in the running for the project is made up of 6343 Fluor, 1378 John Laing and SNC-Lavalin.

The new bridge will be 547m above the water, allowing for the tallest of ships to pass, and have a separate lane for cyclists and pedestrians as well as high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.

It will also be more than twice as long as the recently completed Port Mann Toll Bridge. A 3260 World Highways %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 2 23103 0 oLinkInternal key project report in August 2015 Almost gone: Canada’s old Port Mann Bridge deconstructed false /sections/key-projects/features/almost-gone-canadas-old-port-mann-bridge-deconstructed/ false false%> featured the dismantling of the old bridge beside which the new bridge was built.

The bridge will be built directly above the George Massey Tunnel which was opened in 1959 but which suffers increasingly regular traffic congestion. Keeping it open as an alternate route or as a route for cycling and pedestrians was mooted but the cost of maintaining an ageing structure would be prohibitive. It will be closed and demolished after the new bridge is opened.

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