Reopening Portage and Main to pedestrians is set to cost the city $8 million more than expected, a new report says.
In March, city council voted to open an at-grade pedestrian crossing at the intersection by July 1, 2025, budgeting $13 million for the work.
However, the city has since received just one bid to do the work, which will raise the overall price of the project to $21.3 million.
Lane closures and construction at Portage and Main in October. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files)
“The additional budget is attributed to an aggressive schedule requiring significant labour and risk to complete it on time, the requirements of sub-contractor works requiring significant oversight, complex interaction between public right-of-way and private properties, and that construction will primarily occur over the winter months, which brings several logistical challenges,” writes Brad Neirinck, manager of engineering for public works, in the report.
The report calls for the public works committee to award the contract to M.D. Steele Construction Ltd.
It also notes a consultant warned it would be difficult to pin down the project’s price.
“Due to the unique nature of the project, it was challenging to calculate an estimate for it as there were no comparable projects to refer to,” a city report notes.
The report also warns that the city does not yet have the consent of all private property owners to complete the project yet, which creates a risk.
“At this time construction easements, or another form of written confirmation satisfactory to legal services, are not in place for all private property work required,” the report notes.
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca
Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
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