B.C. Premier Christy Clark has announced the beginning of construction on the Evergreen SkyTrain line to Coquitlam with the official christening of the tunnel boring machine named 'Alice' after Canada's first female geologist.

"With today's christening we can start to create the longest rapid transit system in Canada," said Clark. "We promise to open the line by summer 2016."

The Evergreen line tunnel will be two kilometres long and run east of the Barnet Highway in Port Moody to south of Kemsley Ave. in Coquitlam.

Clark says the machine will drill a single tunnel in one direction instead of two, allowing for a shorter construction schedule.

There will be no disruption to traffic.

The Evergreen Line will link Burnaby, Port Moody and Coquitlam and will be fully integrated into the existing system, connecting directly onto the Millennium Line at Lougheed Town Centre Station.

The Evergreen Line has a total cost $1.43 billion., shared between the Government of Canada, the Government of British Columbia and TransLink.