View a map of all lane closures in Winnipeg. This includes ongoing traffic impacts from all City construction work as well as private construction, utilities work, sewer work, and other work.
Winnipeg’s construction season generally runs from mid-May through October.
Our crews typically improve more than 150 lane-kilometres of roadways, bridges, and active transportation infrastructure each year.
As part of this work, we do four primary types of renewal work on our infrastructure:
- Reconstructions
- Rehabilitations
- Pavement preservations
- Right-of-way improvements
While not technically construction projects, we also do annual routine maintenance on our right-of-way infrastructure. This work includes:
The locations, types of work, material used, and schedule vary greatly between projects.
How we choose locations
We evaluate, rate, and prioritize all pavement surfaces on a two- to three-year cycle.
The pavement rating system tells us which streets are in the worst shape, as well as which are in good or fair condition. This helps us determine what streets require full overhauls and where we can intervene earlier with less expensive treatments before small problems get bigger.
When prioritizing a street, we consider several factors:
- Street classification (regional, collector, industrial, residential or alley)
- Surface type
- Pavement condition
- Renewal treatment (cost/benefit)
- Pavement age
- Coordination with other stakeholders (e.g. Water & Waste)
- Bus route
- Truck route
- Proximity to schools / recreational facilities / retirement facilities
- Available budget
- Development in the area
- Continuity of routes (e.g. extend a renewal to complete a section)
We operate on the right treatment, right location, right time philosophy.
This means we don’t just renew locations with very poor pavement condition. We often apply less costly treatments to extend the service life of good and fair pavements rather than waiting until more expensive treatments are required.
We also repair potholes, curbs, and surface issues across the city throughout the year to keep streets drivable between more involved reconstruction projects.
How we choose material
We are often asked whether concrete or asphalt is better when renewing surfaces.
The truth is, neither is better than the other. They both have their pros and cons.
Asphalt is less costly than concrete and is generally quicker to place and maintain. Concrete is more durable and requires less maintenance.
We consider many things when selecting a pavement surface for a specific location including:
- Soil subgrade conditions
- Life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA)
- Traffic volumes
- Frequency of heavy vehicles
- Intersections
- Ease of installation
- Future maintenance
Concrete pavements can be a cost-effective option for streets with heavy truck traffic and/or weak soils. Where traffic volumes are lower and/or soil conditions improve, asphalt can be a cost-effective solution.
We use asphalt on the majority of residential streets and back lanes.
How we plan a construction season
Once we identify infrastructure that needs renewal in what year, we “program” a construction season. This big-picture planning begins as many as five years in advance.
A good part of this work is logistical, ensuring construction is grouped to minimize disruptions.
It may not seem like it when detours are in place but making it harder to get around the city is the last thing we want to do.
For example, we try to avoid scheduling work on more than one main route leading into and out of one area. We also try to avoid scheduling jobs together that would redirect more than one bus or truck route onto the same residential street.
Unfortunately, all construction disrupts things at least a little.
And sometimes things like the total number of projects, unexpected roadway failures, or construction delays from previous seasons make it hard to avoid more than one disruption in a given area
How plan each individual project
Once we program a construction season, each project gets its own plans for:
- Scheduling
- Traffic management
- Property owner/stakeholder notification
Scheduling
Where possible, we try to limit construction on major streets to off-peak hours when traffic volumes are lower. This helps reduce congestion on our roads. We also must consider the interests of road users, property owners, and contractors.
Contracts usually specify the number of working days a contractor has to complete the job. A working day is typically a fair-weather weekday, not including holidays. Certain high-priority contracts will specify Saturdays as a working day to help speed up work.
Contractors are obligated to complete the work within the given number of working days. This doesn’t mean a crew is at any given site every day once they begin work at it. Workers may leave a site and move to another for many reasons, including:
- Working elsewhere while concrete on one site cures
- Staging multiple locations within a single contract
- Completing a stage of work ahead of schedule and prior to when the next phase can start
Even if the workers are not on-site for a day, that day counts as a working day towards the job’s total. A contractor who exceeds the allowable working days is subject to fines, known as liquidated damages.
24/7 or overnight construction
We review all regional and industrial street renewal projects to determine whether they are suitable for overnight or weekend construction.
There are several challenges to these approaches:
- Safety risks to both workers and road users increase after dark
- Noise is a problem
- Even if residential areas are not beside the construction area, construction noise travels far
- Running a 24-hour operation requires two to three separate crews
- Not all contractors have access to that many workers
- Costs are higher
- Contractors are likely to submit bids that include a cost premium to cover their risk for night and/or extended working hours
When the benefits outweigh the risks, we do require or allow a contractor to work overnight. This typically only happens on jobs where tasks need to be done in succession, very rapidly, and over a short period of time.
Traffic management
We try to stage construction in a way that makes the most sense at a given location. Sometimes we fully close roads to shorten the overall project length. Other times we just close a few lanes.
We look at safety, required turning movements, nearby properties or amenities, and traffic patterns (among other things) to determine how best to work on a site and manage traffic.
Once construction starts, our Transportation Management Centre adjusts traffic signal timings. This helps reduce congestion and maintain traffic flow in an area affected by construction.
Property owner and stakeholder notification
Our early planning on most projects includes reaching out in advance to those whose property or access may be affected by construction. We work together mitigate the impact of limited access, construction scheduling, construction staging and detours.
We communicate all road construction projects to area residents and businesses via mailed construction notice. These letters ask people to contact us with any concerns or special requests for access. We also reach out directly to affected landowners when required.
We plan work as best we can in advance, but are also very willing to troubleshoot once work is underway. We always encourage businesses to contact us if work causes issues we did not anticipate or underestimated the impact of.