Winnipeg’s public works chair has a warning for drivers and bus riders before major construction begins at Portage Avenue and Main Street to eventually reopen the intersection to pedestrians.
“I’m telling everyone to find a different route, because lanes will be closed, lanes will be opened and more lanes will be closed,” said Coun. Janice Lukes.
“It’s going to be a major headache for people who take that route.”
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
The seven-month project to open Portage and Main to pedestrians will add a “significant” amount of time to commutes when construction starts Nov. 15, Coun. Janice Lukes is warning.
Lukes, who drives through the downtown intersection to get to and from city hall, expects the seven-month project will add a “significant” amount of time to commutes when construction starts Nov. 15.
“A lot of work will be happening at once,” the Waverley West councillor said.
Mayor Scott Gillingham urged people to leave earlier than usual if they head downtown during the project.
Lukes hopes downtown employers consider flexible schedules or work-from-home arrangements for eligible staff, if they don’t already, due to anticipated traffic jams at peak times.
“The big thing is for people to plan right now,” she said, noting snowfall will probably slow traffic even more.
Drivers began facing lane closures and delays when pre-construction work got underway earlier this week.
“It’s not really that bad right now, but it’s really going to get intense starting in November,” Lukes warned. “It’s going to be intense construction, because it’s accelerated.”
The city is aiming to finish construction by June 27, two days before the launch of Winnipeg Transit’s new primary network.
The intersection is scheduled to reopen to foot traffic by July 1 for the first time since 1979.
Details of specific lane closures and traffic impacts are expected to be released before Nov. 15.
“We are working to minimize congestions and delays as best we can,” city spokesman David Driedger wrote in an email. “It’s also anticipated that some work may occur on weekends and during off-peak times on weekdays to help minimize potential disruptions.”
He said drivers should use the Waze app to find the fastest route to their destination.
Portage and Main closed to pedestrians 45 years ago, after the city struck a 40-year deal with a property developer who built an office tower and an underground mall.
Debate over whether to reopen the intersection has gone on for years. Opponents feared a change would be too expensive and delay traffic. Supporters believed it could help rejuvenate and better connect downtown.
In March, city council approved the reopening in an 11-3 vote and earmarked an initial $13 million, even though 65 per cent of voters opposed restoring pedestrian access in a non-binding plebiscite in 2018.
The vote was spurred by a staff report that said it would cost $73 million and cause up to five years of traffic disruption to repair a leaking membrane, or waterproofing layer, that protects an underground pedestrian concourse at the intersection.
Additional costly repairs would be expected in 30 to 40 years.
Council decided to study the cost and impacts of closing the underground concourse, which was initially proposed at an estimated cost of $20 million to $50 million.
Before the March vote, a Free Press/Probe Research poll of 600 residents found 61 per cent strongly or somewhat supported restoring pedestrian access, while 39 per cent were strongly or somewhat opposed.
Gillingham said upcoming traffic delays will be a “short-term inconvenience,” compared with years-long disruption that would come with membrane replacement.
Portage and Main would be ripped up to fix the layer.
For the pre-construction phase, Gillingham said he is leaving home five to seven minutes earlier than usual when he heads to city hall in the morning.
“That has been ample time right now,” he said, noting he may have to leave earlier or take a different route when construction “intensifies” next month. “I want to thank motorists in advance for their patience.”
Crews are currently installing conduit at Portage and Main’s corners to prepare for new traffic signals, said Lukes. Sections of curb and median lanes will be closed intermittently.
During the actual project, large concrete barricades will be demolished to make way for new sidewalks and curbs. Medians will be repaired and adjusted.
Hoarding and heating will be used to pour concrete in cold weather.
The city doesn’t run road construction projects 24-7, because it doesn’t have the money or volume of work to merit around-the-clock operations, said Lukes.
An earlier study cited increased safety risks for workers and the public after dark, noise disruption for residents and higher costs.
Lukes said “other players,” including contractors and public utilities, would also have to work or be on call if the city ran construction projects overnight.
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca
Chris Kitching
Reporter
Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.
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