Portage and Main is an intersection in the middle of downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is well known across Canada as one of Winnipeg’s famous landmarks.  It is also referred to as the windiest street corner in Canada. Combining the wind and arctic temperatures in the winter, it is also known as the coldest major urban intersection in North America, possibly the world. For this reason, along with traffic logistics, pedestrians cannot walk across the intersection, they must go underground into a tunnel system.  In the middle of a windy arctic vortex during the winter, walking across the intersection above ground could cause instant freezing of the face and other extremities.

The underground where people can cross the famous Canadian intersection