Expo Line - Surrey Langley Extension: Planning & Pre-Construction

[Dengler Avenue]

That has more to do with the historical railway it replaced between Vancouver and New West.

I remembered seeing the railway crossing under Royal Oak Station and I was confused.

[scryer]

Originally Posted by Monolith

B.C. Election 2020: NDP pledges to move ahead with Surrey-Langley Skytrain expansion

Ok... me-likes.

But what about the Millennium line to UBC? Can I have both ?

P.S: I totally get that the SLS is super easy for politicians to quickly get done as opposed to the M-line to UBC since SLS is all above ground and has a lot less constructive obstacles to work through.

[red-paladin]

As soon as we know whether this will be one or two phases (still not clear to me) and there is an official announcement about that, we can update the title of the thread.

[xd_1771]

It's a clear-cut commitment to build both phases ("the entire line"), including transferring the project ownership to the province similar to what was done with the Pattullo Bridge ("make construction of [SLS] provincial capital project") to presumably expedite both phases at once and not leave the project hanging on TransLink's ability to provide the regional share of funds

Evidently the intention is to have the line completed as all 16 kilometres within a single phase.

Horgan did mention that the federal government would need to put up their share of the funding (i.e. a 50-50 partnership) which I guess is a reasonable expectation at this point.

[idunno]

Another article confirming the entire SLS extension in one phase:

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-ndp-surrey-langley-skytrain-extension-platform

[red-paladin]

I appreciate the input. I'll change the title.

[cganuelas1995]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

Good. Build it ASAP.

Nah screw that, let's essentially kill it before the election and turn it into an election promise.

[xd_1771]

My understanding is that the splitting into two phases was essentially only meant to be a solution to the limitation in funding, since only the $1.6 billion in the (previous LRT) funding could be secured after election time 2018. Planning had been done for both phases regardless (including the business case being for both phases even with a commitment only in place for phase 1/2), essentially meaning that if the full funding is there before substantial work (i.e. procurement, contracts) had been completed, then naturaly the two phases can proceed as a single phase.

This is now essentially guaranteed with the NDP taking the project into provincial jurisdiction. They will expect the federal government to put up their share, but could very well go it on their own in the extremely unlikely case that the federal government says they have no federal money available.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by scryer

Ok... me-likes.

But what about the Millennium line to UBC? Can I have both ?

P.S: I totally get that the SLS is super easy for politicians to quickly get done as opposed to the M-line to UBC since SLS is all above ground and has a lot less constructive obstacles to work through.

Announcement next week lol

[officedweller]

Great news!

[Tvisforme]

Hopefully, this will go through. My only concern is that if it is built all at once, that might delay the opening of the portion ending at Fleetwood past the estimated late 2025 target. I would prefer to see the line progress so that it can be opened in phases.

[xd_1771]

Originally Posted by Tvisforme

Hopefully, this will go through. My only concern is that if it is built all at once, that might delay the opening of the portion ending at Fleetwood past the estimated late 2025 target. I would prefer to see the line progress so that it can be opened in phases.

We've had phased openings of other extensions - specifically, the Millennium Line initially opening to Braid and then the rest of the way. Similarly, the Evergreen Extension could be considered 'phased' in a way with the earlier opening of Platform 3 at Lougheed TC. If say the construction gets going at the station sites all at once and then the elevated guideway truss makes its way out to 166 St, that portion I imagine could be fitted with tracks and infrastructure fast enough for an early opening before the remainder of the guideway is built.

[Metro-One]

Good news indeed.

Originally Posted by scryer

Ok... me-likes.

But what about the Millennium line to UBC? Can I have both ?

P.S: I totally get that the SLS is super easy for politicians to quickly get done as opposed to the M-line to UBC since SLS is all above ground and has a lot less constructive obstacles to work through.

It’s more to do with the fact that the entire E-Line extension is currently having the detailed design phase done together as a single project, but the M-Line extension beyond Arbutus is nothing more than a general idea. No exact routes selected, exact station placements, etc...

[Bobert]

That 184st station is going to be huge considering the new hospital going up in Cloverdale.

A lot of people were wondering how healthcare workers would access the site. From 184/Fraser to the hospital proposed location is probably a ~10min bus ride.

[scryer]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Good news indeed.

It’s more to do with the fact that the entire E-Line extension is currently having the detailed design phase done together as a single project, but the M-Line extension beyond Arbutus is nothing more than a general idea. No exact routes selected, exact station placements, etc...

Yeah I totally had that in mind with my last post. The Expo extension to Langley is just "low-hanging fruit" for a political party to grab since most of the admin work is already done and it is pretty easy to construct without having to face complicated construction techniques, a loud NIMBY crowd, and extensive admin work.

Don't get me wrong, I'm nothing short of thrilled to see that this project remains a regional priority even though I am a little salty that the M-Line extension to UBC isn't getting the encouragement it needs. I cheer for ALL of the lower mainland, BC, and Canada but the UBC extension is so long overdue for Metro Vancouver; the admin work and studies for it should also be a priority. And although I don't necessarily agree with NDP's policies on a federal level, they have indeed done a decent job at running the province AFAIK so it's not like I would have a lot of cognitive dissonance giving them my vote. But hey, like I said, I get that the SLS is low hanging fruit.

I'm talking myself in circles lol .

[WarrenC12]

So we should have two skytrain extensions under construction at the same time?

[Tvisforme]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

So we should have two skytrain extensions under construction at the same time?

Wasn't that the case all along? Broadway is under way and the Surrey extension to Fleetwood, while not as far along, is targeted to open in late 2025 as well IIRC.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Tvisforme

Wasn't that the case all along? Broadway is under way and the Surrey extension to Fleetwood, while not as far along, is targeted to open in late 2025 as well IIRC.

I didn't really think anything was firmed up for Fleetwood.

[TheTerminalCity]

Originally Posted by Tvisforme

Wasn't that the case all along? Broadway is under way and the Surrey extension to Fleetwood, while not as far along, is targeted to open in late 2025 as well IIRC.

Yes, that's right - both Broadway to Arbutus and out from King George to Fleetwood (or now Langley) would be built simultaneously. 2025 could be a big year for SkyTrain openings if everything is delivered on time. I'm excited about these investments coming for transit.

[TheTerminalCity]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

I didn't really think anything was firmed up for Fleetwood.

Fleetwood was not as advanced as the Broadway subway in the process. But the construction time was much shorter, anticipated 2022 start to construction and to open in 2025.