Orange construction signs and barricades are still all over Winnipeg, and drivers and pedestrians are wondering when the road works will be done as winter is fast approaching. It’s not just the drivers and pedestrians wondering – so are local business owners, like Kevin Ramberran from the Dreamland Diner in St. James. Located at 2615 Portage Ave., two lanes and sections of sidewalk in front of his diner are closed for water main work. “When people have time on the weekends, people are coming down,” Ramberran told CTV News. “But what (the construction) has done … it made it so that anytime during the week, I might as well not open the doors.” While he appreciates the work and timely communication from the city, after about eight weeks of closure, it will eat his profit away. “Parking is really tough. We do have a parking lot that people can still access, but they don’t realize that. “Then also, it just looks like we’re closed. We get phone calls every day, asking if we’re open because of the construction, despite my open signs and flashing lights outside.” A city spokesperson at the water and waste department said the project was added to the 2026 water main renewal program in July, after “a series of significant water main breaks occurred earlier this year in the section of water main along Portage Avenue between Harcourt Street and Thompson Street.” The majority of the project was done between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., the spokesperson added, and the current closures were put in place on Sept. 11 to “protect the workers, pedestrians and drivers.” “We can appreciate the frustration of businesses affected by projects of this nature. Affected businesses are provided with a temporary water service during construction; however, the city does not provide compensation to businesses in the vicinity of construction,” the spokesperson said. Over in Tuxedo, roadwork is on the way as part of the Corydon Avenue Renewal project announced in June. Michelle Stainton, project management engineer at the city’s public works department, said the current roadwork will have “some of the tie-in work being completed this week.” While it is early to determine when the department will wrap up construction for the year, Stainton is expecting around five to six per cent of projects to drive into next year. “Most of them are projects that weren’t started,” she said. “There are some exceptions and depending on when we get a final weather event, that may expand. But it’s looking good so far.” On top of weather events, the city is monitoring temperature and asphalt plant closures as factors for construction wrap-up decisions. No to ‘construction season’ Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said businesses understand the need for the projects, but it’s time to “stop telling Winnipeggers ‘construction is a season.’ “It doesn’t have to be, and Winnipeggers don’t have to accept that it’s a construction season. It needs to be more effectively planned. “I’m not going to sit here and profess to be a transportation engineer and know better, but I can see the results – and we deserve better results, and they’re achievable.” As nine new city councillors are swearing in on Tuesday, Remillard said the result was because “Winnipeg said the status quo is unacceptable.” “You’re going to city council with a mandate to challenge conventional thinking, to challenge an administration that may say, ‘This is the way we’ve always done it.’ “Learn to understand the system so you can challenge it, but know that Winnipeggers want this council to deliver different outcomes than what we’ve seen historically.”
