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It is unclear if the underground Broadway SkyTrain line will also be more expensive as a result of the agreement.

Photo by Gerry Kahrmann / PNG

Construction is expected to begin in 2020 and conclude five years later, adding 5.7 kilometres and six stations to the Millennium Line, extending it from the VCC-Clark station to Arbutus Street. It is primarily being funded by the provincial and federal governments, and TransLink.

Earlier in the day, another Vancouver transit project received a boost when the TransLink Mayors’ Council endorsed SkyTrain as the technology for the eventual transit extension from the end of the proposed subway line at Arbutus Street out to the University of British Columbia.

At a meeting Friday morning, the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation voted in favour of proceeding with planning for SkyTrain to UBC instead of other transit options, including light rail. Only Port Moody Mayor Rob Vagramov and White Rock Mayor Darryl Walker were opposed.

Before the decision, Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart said that in the interest of acting “collaboratively” on a regional decision, he would not be calling for a weighted vote. Later, in an interview, he thanked his fellow mayors for “coming together as a region today.”

But the mayor was careful not to get ahead of himself.

“I think this is the fifth vote we’ve had (on the UBC line) and there could be 10 more to go,” he said. “This vote won’t get SkyTrain built, but it also didn’t kill it.”