Get ready for traffic delays as work begins to reopen Portage and Main to pedestrians

Road closures around Winnipeg's Portage Avenue and Main Street intersection could impact traffic as soon as Tuesday, the city says.

Various sections of the curb and median lanes will be blocked intermittently beginning as early as Tuesday and lasting for four weeks, as traffic-signals crews do pre-construction work, a news release said on Friday.

"These preparations will allow a contractor to begin demolition of the concrete barricades and other major construction work in mid-November," the release said.

More detailed information about construction and traffic impacts will be released before the start of construction on Nov. 15.

Winnipeg city council voted in March to reopen the intersection to allow street-level crossing by pedestrians by July 1, 2025. The intersection has been closed to above-ground pedestrian traffic since 1979, when concrete barricades closed off the corners.

People wanting to get across the windy corner have had to navigate an underground concourse that many have complained is confusing and unsafe.

An agreement with neighbouring property owners to keep the intersection closed to pedestrians expired in 2019.

In September, the city issued a tender for the reopening work, which is expected to take seven months.

A majority of Winnipeggers in a 2018 plebiscite voted to keep the intersection closed to pedestrians.

But city council decided earlier this year to take down the concrete walls after it learned that replacing the leaky membrane embedded in the intersection's roads could cost at least $73 million and disrupt traffic for five years.

The waterproof membrane is supposed to protect the underground concourse but has degraded over the years.

In comparison, it is anticipated to cost $20 million to $50 million to decommission the concourse. A further $13 million is required to demolish the barricades, install new traffic signals and streetlights, as well as install new curbs and sidewalks.