Winnipeg is being advised to make substantial repairs to the 114-year-old Louise Bridge instead of building a new span over the Red River between Point Douglas and Elmwood.
In a report to city council, Winnipeg engineering manager Brad Neirinck is recommending the city extend the life of the existing two-lane Louise Bridge by another 30 years instead of replacing it with a brand-new structure that would have more lanes for vehicles, as well as dedicated lanes for buses.
The rehabilitation would serve as a medium-term stopgap until a newer and wider bridge is built as part of the construction of a future transit line connecting downtown Winnipeg with Transcona, Neirinck writes.
The existing two-lane bridge should be able to handle traffic in the mean time, he adds.
“The traffic analysis suggests that the existing two-lane bridge would provide adequate capacity for vehicular traffic until around 2050,” Neirinck writes.
“Traffic analysis indicates the existing bridge is near or at capacity in morning rush hour based on 2023 traffic counts. However, there has been a 10 per cent decrease in traffic since 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels and only modest traffic growth is projected.”
The Louise Bridge was completed in 1910, when it replaced an earlier rail bridge built in 1881. The city has been talking about replacing it since 2006 and has looked at options for adding more lanes, including some dedicated to transit.
The bridge requires annual closures for minor repairs to keep it open but will soon require more work to mitigate “extensive bridge deck deterioration, non-functional support bearings, structural steel deterioration and underwater river pier deterioration,” Neirinck writes.
This work must be done by 2030, he advises in his report. Eventually, the bridge will need to be replaced, he adds.
“Even if rehabilitated, the existing structure cannot accommodate additional vehicular lanes or transit-only lanes. Thus, future extension of [Winnipeg Transit’s] eastern corridor across the Red River will require replacement of the existing bridge,” he writes.
The report will come before city council’s public works committee on Tuesday.