Leaves falling, chill in the air… And crews still working on more than half of year’s road projects By: Joyanne Pursaga Posted: 5:35 PM CDT Friday, Oct. 4, 2024

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This article was published 04/10/2024 (363 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There was frost on the ground Friday morning but construction season is far from over in Winnipeg, with more than half of road projects still underway.

Just 31 per cent of this season’s local construction projects are now complete, according to the latest City of Winnipeg data. Another 10 per cent of projects are deemed “substantially complete” (with landscaping and other finishing touches still to come), while construction is ongoing for 46 per cent of projects and has yet to start for 12 per cent.

Approximately one per cent of projects planned to take place this year are still in the design phase, the city says.

“This is a fairly typical season in terms of progress.… As every year, we will continue working until the ground freezes to a point where we no longer can,” spokeswoman Julie Horbal Dooley said in an emailed statement.

The city budgeted $138.3 million to repair local and regional roads this season.

Horbal Dooley said construction can continue until the temperature falls below zero “for a number of nights in a row,” with no set end date.

In previous years, the city has said projects can run from early May to as late as mid-November, depending on the weather.

As construction season lingers on, some businesses have grown frustrated with delays on specific projects.

Sara Dandeneau, owner of Frame Hair Design, said construction on Lipton Street cut off sidewalk access and deliveries to her business for weeks over the summer.

“One of the big parts of the success of my business has been the visibility, the walk-in traffic. With no sidewalk (for much of the project) or no way to even safely access the sidewalk, I didn’t have any foot traffic whatsoever,” said Dandeneau. “We (also) couldn’t get any supplies (from delivery companies). No one would come to the salon.”

“If you get a (construction) contract because you said you would be able to do it in eight weeks, you have to be able to do it in that time frame. My business was negatively impacted… it still affects our bottom line.”–Sara Dandeneau

The business owner said some asphalt was poured this week, raising hope the entire project will wrap up soon.

But she remains frustrated the work initially expected to end in August is still not complete.

“If you get a (construction) contract because you said you would be able to do it in eight weeks, you have to be able to do it in that time frame. My business was negatively impacted… it still affects our bottom line,” she said.

The city says the Lipton project was delayed by utility work, with construction now expected to finish in early November.

Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public works, said she feels for those frustrated by extended construction projects but the city sometimes faces unavoidable delays.

“Sometimes… we’re waiting for other utilities, like (Manitoba) Hydro… or sometimes there’s a major discovery of some kind of underground issue. You never really know what’s underneath until you open up that road,” said Lukes (Waverley West).

“Year after year after year, this question comes up (night construction). If it was possible, we would do it. It’s just (that) we have constraints.”–Coun. Janice Lukes

The councillor said the amount of road work still underway right now is normal for this time of year.

“We’ve got… weeks left, so I’m not worried,” she said. “A lot of the local (road projects start) in September. That’s not unusual at all.”

The city has explored adding more night-time road construction shifts to speed up work in the past. While that practice is used sometimes, such as in industrial areas far from homes, there are multiple reasons why it isn’t more common, said Lukes.

She said noise complaints are a key concern, noting she received many angry calls from folks affected by provincial construction on the Perimeter Highway a few years ago, even though it wasn’t a city project.

“People will go crazy when construction happens at night, from the noise… For roadworks in residential neighbourhoods, it’s just not going to work,” she said.

Night-time construction can also cost more, due to the need for lighting equipment and extended hours for support staff, while a limited supply of workers can hinder a company’s ability to fill all of the shifts, she said.

“Year after year after year, this question comes up. If it was possible, we would do it. It’s just (that) we have constraints,” said Lukes.

Chris Lorenc, president of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association, said it appears some specific projects were delayed due to the city tendering projects later this year, as well as extremely wet weather in June.

“A whole pile of (contracts were) tendered and awarded in the back half of the construction season. Hopefully, next year you (will) see as many projects but spread over a longer period of time, which means less interruption to the motoring public,” said Lorenc.

However, he agreed it is typical to see many projects continue later into the fall.

“It’s normal to have fall work. It’s probably a little more abnormal to have the volume of work… that is incomplete (this season),” he said.

The city plans to award all construction contracts by April 2025 for next season to help avoid scheduling delays, he said.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga