Portage and Main: Landmark Winnipeg intersection set to reopen to pedestrians
Posted June 27, 2025 11:20 am.
Last Updated June 28, 2025 1:14 pm.
A landmark intersection in Winnipeg has reopened today to pedestrians more than four decades after it closed.
Concrete barriers have prevented pedestrian crossings at the intersection for 46 years, forcing people to go through an underground concourse.
City council voted to open up the intersection last year after a study found that carrying out repairs in the area while maintaining the underground walkway would cost $73 million and disrupt traffic for years.
Work over the last year has included demolishing barriers and installing new traffic signals, as well as new curbs, sidewalks and transit stops.
The move has critics arguing the barriers should be kept in place to reduce accidents and traffic snarls, while advocates say forcing pedestrians to walk underground creates an accessibility issue.
The landmark intersection has inspired a song, a stamp, and has been a place where people have congregated by the thousands to celebrate milestones and protest injustices.
“Reopening Portage and Main to pedestrians is just one piece of a larger effort to make our downtown more connected, accessible, and welcoming,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham in a news release Thursday.
