Deas Island Tunnel
Language of origin English language
Feature Type:Tunnel - Underground passageway for a travel route (under a watercourse or arm of the sea, or through an elevation of terrain).
Status: Not official
Other Names: George Massey TunnelOfficial
Relative Location: Under the South Arm Fraser River, between Delta and Richmond (municipalities), New Westminster Land District
Latitude-Longitude: 49°07'19"N, 123°04'30"W at the approximate centre of this feature.
Datum: WGS84
NTS Map: 92G/3
Origin Notes and History:

Carries Highway 99 traffic under the south arm of the Fraser River between Deas and Lulu Islands. Originally called the Deas Island Tunnel; officially opened 15 July 1959; subsequently renamed by Premier W.A.C.Bennett, after Nehemiah "George" Massey, MLA Delta, 1956-60.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

"This facility is a combination tunnel and bridge, the tunnel being 2,000 feet long. Its offical name is Deas Island Tunnel, named after the island in the Fraser River on which it emerges. From there it is connected with a small bridge across a slough to the bank of the river. The highway in which the tunnel and bridge system is incorporated is called the Deas Tunnel Thruway." (July 1964 letter from R.J. Baines, Admin Officer, Department of Highways)

Source: Provincial Archives of BC "Place Names File" compiled 1945-1950 by A.G. Harvey from various sources, with subsequent additions