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More concrete plans have been developed ever since the provincial government in July 2024 selected the private consortium that will design and build the new tunnel.

Cross Fraser Partnership is led by the Canadian division of France-based Bouygues Construction, in partnership with Spanish construction company Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, Quebec-based Pomerleau, architectural and engineering firm Arcadis (formerly known as IBI Group), and Netherlands-based dredging and marine services firm Boskalis.

Bouygues is perhaps best known for playing a key part in building the 50-km-long Channel Tunnel, also known as the Chunnel, between France and the United Kingdom.

The environmental assessment process for the new replacement George Massey Tunnel first began in 2021. This process is now approaching its final stretch, with a critical decision on whether the environmental assessment certificate should be granted to the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Transit now approaching.

The provincial government intends to have Cross Fraser Partnership begin major construction activities in 2026 for the completion and opening of the new tunnel in 2030.

Ahead of the current public consultation, more technical details have been released for how the project will be built.

The new tunnel from end to end will be about 1.054 km long, and the main span beneath the river will be made of six tunnel segments — each weighing about 60,000 tonnes, and measuring a length of 130 metres and a width of 45 metres. For comparison, each segment will be about the same size of a football field.

All six concrete tunnel segments will be prefabricated on Deas Island on the south side of the river, where the tunnel’s south portal will be located.

According to the environmental assessment report, temporary plant facilities would be established on the island to manufacture the segments, including creating a casting basin — digging a dry pit for where the segments will be prefabricated, before being flooded and floated out.

These segments will then be stored in the area until the riverbed is ready for installation.

While the segments are being prefabricated, a machine will dredged a trench on the bed of the river, where the segments will be lowered into place.

Upon the start of the installation process, tugboats will be used to move the floating segments into position over the trench. Cables that span the river will secure the tunnel elements before they are lowered into place.

Special tanks inside the segments are filled with water to provide the added weight needed to lower the tunnel into the trench position.

After each segment is lowered into the trench, gravel is added to the sides to secure it in place. All six segments will be sealed and waterproofed, and a layer of large boulders will be placed on top of the tunnel’s rooftop to protect it from damage, such as from ship strikes.

At the south end of the new tunnel, a new eight-lane, 350-metre Deas Slough Bridge will be constructed to link the new tunnel with the rest of Highway 99 in Delta.

Upon the opening of the new tunnel, the existing seismically unsafe tunnel built in 1959 will permanently close for its decommissioning.

According to the environmental assessment report, the existing tunnel structure will not be demolished, as a complete removal could lead to more harm to the area’s marine life. Instead, there will be a removal of the existing tunnel’s interior systems, equipment, road asphalt, and other materials.

The existing tunnel’s roadway volume and service spaces will then be filled with clean fill (soil/sand), and then it will be flooded. Some modifications will be made to the existing tunnel structure so that river water will be able to enter the interior volume, ensuring the structure remains flooded.

Permanent bulkheads will be installed at both entrances of the existing tunnel, and there will also be a filling of the existing open ramp approaches.

This overall decommissioning process of the existing tunnel is expected to take about two years.

This new seismic-safe immersed tube tunnel is expected to have a lifespan of about 150 years. In contrast, upon its closure in 2030, the existing immersed tube tunnel will be 71 years old.

The provincial government is expected to provide an updated construction cost for the project following the conclusion of the environmental assessment process. The previous preliminary estimate of $4.15 billion — which covers not only the new tunnel, but also the new Steveston Highway interchange, bus-on-shoulder lanes, and other Highway 99 corridor improvements — is unlikely to remain accurate. This figure was first established about five years ago, prior to the significant inflationary trends that have since impacted the cost of construction materials, equipment, and labour.

It should also be noted that the new tunnel will be given a new name, which has yet to be determined. It will not retain the name of George Massey, the former B.C. politician who championed the construction of the original tunnel as a replacement for the previous ferry service. The Deas Island Tunnel was renamed the George Massey Tunnel three years after Massey’s death.

Currently, approximately 80,000 vehicles per day use the existing tunnel, which is a choke point, especially when counterflow is operated. As well, trucks carrying dangerous goods or oversized shipments are not permitted in the existing tunnel due to its low clearance.

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