Construction to cause delays at Portage and Main [Video]

Winnipeg’s mayor is asking for patience from motorists during anticipated traffic delays at Portage and Main, as work begins to reopen the famed intersection.

According to the City of Winnipeg, sections of both roads’ curb and median lanes will be closed intermittently over the next four weeks as part of the pre-construction work.

These preparations will allow for major construction work to begin in mid-November.

“This will be short-term disruptions for the work that needs to be done,” Mayor Scott Gillingham told reporters at Winnipeg City Hall on Tuesday.

“This is one of the reasons that I supported opening the intersection at grade rather than five years of construction delays at the intersection to repair the membrane.”

In March, city council voted in favour of reopening Portage and Main to pedestrians. Mayor Scott Gillingham pushed to open the intersection for the first time since 1979 instead of footing the $73 …