TransLink is replacing 40-year-old elevator equipment at 29th Avenue Station starting Sept. 29, with construction expected to take about four months and an accessible shuttle bridging the gap for riders on weekdays.

The elevator at the Vancouver SkyTrain station will close for the duration of the replacement. During the work, TransLink will run an accessible shuttle every 15 minutes between 29th Avenue and Joyce–Collingwood stations on weekdays, from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Extra signage and wayfinding materials will be in place at both stations to direct customers to the shuttle.

The 29th Avenue project forms part of the Expo Line Elevator Replacement Program, which is upgrading 21 original elevators across 15 stations. The new units carry 20% more capacity than the equipment they replace and, according to TransLink, are more reliable, reducing service disruptions for passengers who depend on vertical circulation at elevated and underground stations.

Nine of the new Expo Line elevators are already operating across the SkyTrain network, meaning the 29th Avenue installation joins a program with measurable delivery to date rather than one still at the procurement stage. The remaining replacements continue under the program's schedule.

BC Parkway upgrades target safety and separation

In a parallel workstream, TransLink has started upgrades to BC Parkway, the 26-kilometer (16.2-mile) multi-use pathway that follows the Expo Line through Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster and Surrey, B.C. TransLink operates, maintains and improves the corridor.

The current project covers the section between Imperial Street and Buller Avenue. TransLink will widen this segment to create separate pathways for pedestrians and cyclists, a design change intended to reduce conflicts between the two user groups on a corridor that shares alignment with the Expo Line for its full length.

The scope also includes an improved signalized crossing at Royal Oak Station and upgraded intersections at Nelson Avenue, MacPherson Avenue and Buller Avenue. Better lighting, signage and pavement markings round out the package.

TransLink says the existing pathway should remain open and accessible through most of construction. Short-term closures may be necessary to protect workers and pathway users, and the agency plans to communicate any closures or detours in advance through on-site signage.

Construction on the BC Parkway segment is expected to be completed by early 2028, giving the agency a multi-year window to deliver the widening and intersection work.

What the projects mean for riders

Both programs address aging infrastructure at the core of the 40-year-old Expo Line network. The elevator replacements target one of the most disruptive failure modes on the system: when a single vertical-access unit goes out of service at an elevated or underground station, customers with mobility needs lose independent access unless TransLink supplies alternatives such as the shuttle now scheduled for 29th Avenue.

The BC Parkway work, by contrast, addresses surface access. The corridor functions as a feeder route for the Expo Line, and separating pedestrian and cyclist flows between Imperial Street and Buller Avenue — combined with the improved Royal Oak Station crossing — is intended to lower conflict points at the locations where pathway users interact with road traffic and station access points.

TransLink frames both projects under a broader effort to improve safety and fortify reliability across its system. The elevator program carries the more concrete metric: 21 replacements across 15 stations, nine already in service, with the 29th Avenue unit to follow from Sept. 29.