Winnipeg mayor announces plans to reopen Portage and Main, citing costly repairs

Winnipeg’s mayor says he is now in favour of reopening Portage and Main to pedestrians instead of footing the multimillion-dollar repair bill and gutting out years of construction-related traffic delays.

Scott Gillingham made the announcement Friday morning at Winnipeg City Hall.

Gillingham said a new city report on traffic impacts and associated costs of repairing the underground outlines four to five years of construction-related traffic delays and could cost tens of millions of dollars.

“Tearing Portage and Main apart would create traffic chaos for nearly half a decade, and cost at least $73 million,” said Gillingham in a news release. “And then we’d need to do it all over again in 30 to 40 years. I don’t think that’s the right choice for commuters, taxpayers or downtown residents.”

This comes after the city released different planning options for the contentious intersection in April of 2023.

A waterproof membrane underneath the road surface and the barricades that block pedestrian traffic need to be replaced. At the time, the city said it wanted to use the project to spruce up the intersection.

The options outlined replacing the barriers with bollards or fencing, which could be opened up for special events.

City councillors Sherri Rollins and Cindy Gilroy also put forward a motion in May to the public works committee to see what it would cost to allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross on the street and the impacts that would have on vehicle traffic.

During the 2018 election, 65 per cent of voters in a plebiscite wanted to keep the barricades up.

The mayor also said the construction timeline and cost associated with repairing the membrane were not known at the time of the 2018 plebiscite or the last civic election.

He says the pandemic has changed commuting patterns, creating lower traffic volumes through the intersection and less rush hour traffic.

“The issue has consumed so much time and energy over the years, but it’s just an intersection,” he said.

“It’s time to deal with Portage and Main once and for all, and move on to more important issues like improving traffic flow throughout the rest of the city, redesigning our new transit network and interesting in new recreation facilities in growing neighbourhoods.”

This is a developing story. More details to come.

– With files from CTV’s Jeff Keele

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