As the temperature is heating up, many Winnipeg drivers are slowing down.
There are hundreds of construction projects going on within the city, thanks to a record-setting $116 million in municipal funding.
But that means many drivers are facing headaches on the road, trying to find alternative routes instead of getting stuck in traffic jams.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it and say it’ll be easy on traffic,” said Ken Allen, who is with the City’s Public Works department, “but certainly it’s short term pain for long term gain.
“We have limited time to get all these construction projects completed, so I think Winnipeggers are going to see a busy season right up until November.”
St. Mary’s Road, Donald Street, and Notre Dame Avenue are three of six well-used routes getting in or out of the downtown, and they’re currently all seeing major construction.
Portage Avenue and Henderson Highway, two alternate routes, are currently clear: but various construction projects are expected on both in the coming months.
Getting downtown via Provencher Boulevard is a safe bet, as long as drivers steer clear of the work being done on Tache Avenue.
Global News Morning compiled the top 5 routes heading downtown that have been slowed down every morning drive this week.
- Road closures in the Exchange District, like Albert Street and Cumberland Avenue, are impacting traffic on southbound Main Street and causing vehicles to be backed up all the way to Redwood Avenue.
- Goulet Street and Marion Street are backed up all the way down Archibald Street. There’s no construction on that route, but there’s construction on alternative routes like on Fermor Avenue and St. Anne’s Road.
- Ellice Avenue from Erin Street to Arlington Street is blocked off completely for westbound traffic, and eastbound is reduced to one lane.
- McPhillips Street from Logan Avenue to Jarvis Avenue is down to single lanes in both direction due to construction.
- Main Street northbound and St. Mary Avenue are slow starting around 9 a.m. That means major traffic on Forks Market Road to St. Mary Avenue.
This construction season will see work done on 150 kilometres of lanes within the city.
All the construction will result in numerous traffic delays, especially during June, July and August.