Phyllis the TBM Breaks Through at Mount Pleasant

The second of two tunnel-boring machines (TBMs), Phyllis, that are building twin tunnels for the Broadway Subway Project, reached the future Mount Pleasant Station early Saturday morning.

The 150-metre-long, custom-built TBM is named after Phyllis Munday, a famous nurse and mountaineer who established the Girl Guides in British Columbia. Since leaving Great Northern Way last fall, Phyllis has bored 725 meters of the tunnel, and 494 concrete liner rings have been installed along the new section of the tunnel.

The Broadway Subway Project will develop the Millennium Line 5.7 kilometers from VCC-Clark Station to West Broadway and Arbutus Street, supplying people with fast, convenient SkyTrain service along the Broadway corridor. The corridor is home to B.C.’s second-largest jobs center, world-class healthcare services, an emerging innovation and research hub, and growing residential communities.

The project will provide faster travel, better access and fewer cars on the road in this heavily used corridor. When it becomes operational, the journey from VCC-Clark to Arbutus Station will take only 11 minutes, saving the average transit commuter around 30 minutes daily and reducing traffic congestion along Broadway.

Elsie, the first tunnel boring machine, reached Mount Pleasant Station in late January 2023. She started tunnelling toward the future Broadway City Hall Station on March 4.

Progress carries to be made at the elevated guideway, where teams are installing girders to link the 21 columns between VCC-Clark Station and the future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station. Boring and building of the station foundations are continuing at the Broadway-City Hall, Oak-VGH, South Granville and Arbutus sites.

Traffic decks have been installed at these sites to keep people and vehicles moving along Broadway and to keep access to this area as a transportation and retail corridor.

The project will back the new transit-oriented developments, which will make efficient, connected communities where people can easily access public transit and have their day-to-day necessities conveniently located close to home.

As claimed, the Broadway Subway Project will generate over 13,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction, supporting economic development within the region and beyond.

For information about the Broadway Subway Project, visit here.