Breathing new life into Saskatchewan Avenue

By Paul Adair

If you happen to live under a rock and haven’t already noticed, a major thoroughfare in the city is currently receiving a major makeover.

Since the Saskatchewan Avenue Revitalization project began in spring 2022, the City of Portage la Prairie has been steadily upgrading stretches of the roadway to reflect a more modern design and make the street more accessible for vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians, while also providing a consistent and commercially vibrant pedestrian connection to the downtown. This project is also restoring aging underground infrastructures such as land drainage, wastewater sewer, and watermains.

The work from 8th Street W to Elm Street is funded through the ICIP program with the provincial and federal governments committing $8.3 million and $12.5 million, respectively. The City expanded the scope of the project beyond what was originally planned and will be funding approximately 50 per cent of the estimated $41 million total cost.

The project is also being worked on in two phases and multiple stages.

Wrapping up in spring 2023, the first phase of the project saw significant improvements/replacements made to the street’s watermain and wastewater sewer infrastructure. Phase 2 of this project, which will be completed between the autumn months of 2023 and 2024, will involve a substantial overhaul of 1.5 kilometres of Saskatchewan Ave. West – from 4th Street W. to Elm Street – and include upgrades to the paved avenue and sidewalks, the addition of bike paths, green spaces, and parking spaces, and enhanced land drainage.

“The west end of Saskatchewan Avenue has really never before been brought up to a high urban standard,” says Jocelyn Lequier-Jobin, Director of Operations at the City of Portage la Prairie. “The travel lanes themselves weren’t in bad condition, but the turning lanes and parking were just gravel swales, and there was no sidewalk for much of the street, not to mention the lack of adequate lighting. This revitalization project will renew Saskatchewan Avenue and give us the kind of access, safety, and accessibility that we’ve come to expect from a modern city.”

For a project of this size and scope, disruption is almost impossible to avoid. But the City has done what it can to lessen the negative consequence of the work being done by providing alternative access where possible, adding signage to help traffic navigate various street closures, and by keeping sections of Saskatchewan Avenue open during construction.

Despite any disruption that remains, the response from the public has been largely positive, with the people frequenting Saskatchewan Ave. seeming to appreciate the new sidewalks and having better access to the businesses along the stretch. It also helps that the project is being done in segments, and the public can see for themselves what lies ahead.

“When we were doing just the underground work, it was a little harder for people to understand what was going on with Saskatchewan Avenue,” says Lequier-Jobin. “But now that they’re starting to see the new paving and pathways, nice landscaping, and everything else that’s coming, it makes it a little easier for people to have patience with the construction period – although I’m sure they are also excited to finally see it complete next year.”

The City has also been keeping the local business community in the loop the Portage Chamber of Commerce, which has been helpful with letting the City know the concerns of businesses in the area, as well as giving city planners the opportunity to communicate directly with the business owners themselves.

“The Chamber helped facilitate one of our meetings in advance of the roadwork happening last spring, just so everybody could have an idea of what would be going on over the summer,” says Lequier-Jobin. “And the feedback we received from that event was that it was very useful. It’s really about keeping the lines of communication open during this challenging construction period.”