A stretch of a major Vancouver street will be completely closed to traffic for four months early next year due to construction of the Broadway Subway project, the provincial government announced Thursday.

Beginning in January, crews will remove the traffic deck and reinstall utilities on Broadway between Main and Quebec streets.

“To complete this process as quickly as possible, vehicle traffic will be temporarily detoured around the block where work is taking place, the Ministry of Transportation and Transit said.

“After approximately four months, vehicle traffic will return to this section of Broadway with one lane in each direction for another four months as reconstruction is finished.”

This approach will minimize the impact on residents, businesses, and commuters, the ministry says.

“In summer 2026, this block of Broadway between Main and Quebec streets is scheduled to have four lanes open to traffic, wider sidewalks with the sidewalk on the south side of Broadway reconnected to Main Street, and most of the safety fencing removed.”

According to the ministry, pedestrian access to all businesses, services, and residences will remain open over the four months.

Two years late, millions over budget

The Broadway Subway project was initially estimated to be finished this year.

Instead, the 5.7-kilometre extension of the SkyTrain Millennium Line — connecting VCC-Clark to Arbutus — is now slated to open in fall 2027, two years behind schedule and roughly $100 million over budget.

The total price tag: nearly $3 billion.

And while the province says next year’s reroute strategy will minimize disruption, for many along the corridor it’s just another hit in what’s already been a grueling five-year slog.

“It hurts these businesses [on Broadway] a lot,” said Neil Wyles, executive director of the Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Association.

Wyles says, since 2020, storefront after storefront has been emptied out.

“We represent about seven blocks of this construction site, and we’re looking at more than 50 per cent vacancy. Some have relocated, some have just gone away, closed up shop, gone out of business, gone bankrupt.”

He also calls the province’s refusal to provide direct financial support “deplorable,” saying business groups have been pushing for things like property tax breaks and other measures, similar to what was offered during the pandemic.

“There’s no help, and the province is digging in on their ‘we do not compensate for short-term business interruption’ policy, but this will be more than seven years,” he said.

“And the two years additional was something that these businesses never planned for.”

During Friday’s update, Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth dodged a question about what the province is doing to financially support affected businesses, only saying the key goal is to minimize disruption.

“Cutting it in half is a significant improvement. Making sure that in terms of the businesses, that the pedestrian access is open to them. That’s very important,” said Farnworth.