East Broadway to Fully Close for Subway Construction in 2026

Travel across Vancouver’s Central Broadway area will be significantly impacted starting on January 26, 2026, as full road closures on East Broadway at Main Street are set to commence. This disruption, lasting approximately four months, is necessary for the removal of a temporary four-lane road deck bridge, which facilitated the construction of the Mount Pleasant Station for the Broadway extension of the Millennium Line.

The provincial government initially announced the closure in October 2025, but a specific start date was not provided until now. The closure will commence at 7 a.m. on January 26 and will remain in effect around the clock. During this period, the busy one-block stretch of East Broadway between Main Street and Quebec Street will be inaccessible to all vehicles.

TransLink’s bus services, including the 99 B-Line, No. 9 Boundary/UBC, and N9 NightBus, will detour one block north, utilizing East 8th Avenue. A temporary traffic signal will be implemented at the intersection of Main Street and East 8th Avenue to enhance bus movement through traffic signal priority. Additionally, new bus queue jumpers and dual turn lanes will be introduced. General vehicle traffic is expected to reroute through other arterial routes, such as 12th Avenue and 2nd Avenue, while East 8th Avenue and Quebec Street will remain open to maintain access for local businesses and residences.

Throughout the closure, pedestrian sidewalks will remain accessible to ensure continued access to local establishments. Following the four-month closure, vehicle traffic is anticipated to return to East Broadway with one lane in each direction. The remaining construction work, which will include rebuilding two additional lanes, is expected to continue into Summer 2026. Ultimately, the new design will feature a total of four vehicle lanes, two in each direction, alongside widened pedestrian sidewalks, as part of the City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan.

Businesses in the vicinity have expressed concerns over the prolonged closure, especially given the challenges they have faced during ongoing construction. In a bid to alleviate some of the impacts, the Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Association (MPBIA) has called on the provincial government for emergency financial assistance and urged the municipal government to relax curbside parking restrictions in the area.

In an open letter, MPBIA executive director Neil Wyles highlighted the dire situation many business owners face, stating, “All you need to do is walk the Broadway corridor to see the number of vacant buildings, papered up windows and for lease signs to see the impact.” Some local entrepreneurs have even sold their homes or taken second jobs to sustain their businesses amid the ongoing disruptions.

As the construction project nears its final stages, the provincial government has not yet finalized plans for the removal of remaining temporary traffic deck bridges at other subway station construction sites, including Broadway-City Hall, Oak-VGH, South Granville, and Arbutus. The removal of these decks, originally installed to facilitate traffic flow during excavation, is crucial for the project’s completion.

Construction on the Millennium Line’s Broadway extension began in Spring 2021 and is expected to be completed and operational by Fall 2027. The current road closures signal an important phase in the infrastructure project, moving towards the restoration of the affected roadways and the completion of the new subway stations.