Winnipeg has its fair share of traffic-clogging road work projects on the go, and a former contractor says that work could be completed quicker if the city would just extend its construction work hours into the evenings.

The city says it is well-established in the construction industry that doing road work projects outside of daytime hours is "dangerous, less productive and noisy." But Rick Caslake, a former Winnipeg contractor, disagrees.

Caslake maintains city crews and independent contractors should be encouraged to work into the evenings.

Hire more people to extend the working day from sunrise to sunset. - Rick Caslake

"I can't understand why, in the request for proposals, the city wouldn't insist that contractors work a longer day to take advantage of daylight hours and to work on Saturdays," said Caslake.

"It seems like a waste of weather and manpower."

In his experience, Caslake claims allowing crews to work into the evening would result in major projects being completed in less time.

He also disputes the city's claim that the practice would be more dangerous to workers.

"The workers are out there during rush hour morning and afternoon, but by the time we get into 5:30 p.m to 6 p.m., it's still very light out, there's no issues with darkness — it's actually safer because there is less traffic," Caslake said.

"Hire more people to extend the working day from sunrise to sunset. During the height of the summer, that's a pretty long working day that is available."

The city said it doesn't restrict contractors from conducting nighttime work, "as long as they have a pre-approved safe work plan, approved traffic management plan and the operations do not violate the City Noise Policy."

The city rarely stipulates a contractor is required to work in the evenings, a spokesperson said, adding exemptions include when construction activities would otherwise significantly impact traffic flows and worker safety during the day.

"This happened when we last resurfaced Portage and Main, for example," the spokesperson said.

"There are some projects where traffic management is a priority, so we restrict work during peak periods. In general, a contractor is given a certain amount of working days to complete a contract and they decide on the hours of work for their crews to meet their obligation. On critical routes, the city will put a bonus clause into a contract to encourage the contractor to finish early."

The city acknowledged construction during the day can inconvenience drivers, adding it is working to minimize the the impact ongoing infrastructure projects have on motorists in Winnipeg.