The second custom-designed tunnel boring machine (TBM) that will help bore the tunnels needed for the Broadway Subway project in Vancouver, B.C., is ready for “imminent launch,” according to the province.
The 150-meter (492.1-foot) long, six-meter (19.7-foot) in diameter TBM known as Phyllis will join its sister TBM, known as Elsie, in tunneling the five kilometers (3.1 miles) of the 5.7-kilometer (3.5-mile) project.
Elsie, the first TBM, launched Oct. 7, 2022, and the province reports the machine has made significant progress toward its first breakthrough at Mount Pleasant Station while the second machine is now fully assembled and set to launch.
Progress continues to be made on tunneling work with more than half of the columns for the guideway between VCC-Clark and Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station are complete. Construction and fit out of the stations and tracks will begin once tunnel boring has finished.
The project completion is estimated to be early 2026 after a five-week strike impacted the concrete supply in the Lower Mainland, which affected the start of tunnel boring. The province says a precise update on the project timeline will be provided in the spring of 2023 when station excavation and tunnel boring are further advanced.
The Broadway Subway will extend the Millennium Line from VCC-Clark Station to the future Broadway and Arbutus station, providing fast, convenient SkyTrain service along the Broadway corridor.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
