The city is asking for the public’s input on replacing the Omand’s Creek pedestrian bridge.
“This project will be a fresh start to a conversation we started with the community in 2010,” the City of Winnipeg said in a news release Tuesday.
“At that time, work on a new bridge stalled due to community concerns with the proposed designs.”
Omand’s Creek rises over the pedestrian bridge in late March 2009. (MIKE APORIUS/FREE PRESS FILES)
The concrete bridge with galvanized handrails was built over Omand’s Creek in 1981 and connects Omand Park and Wolseley.
“We hope to start planning construction as early as 2026,” the city says on its website.
The bridge will require replacement within five years, the city said, because the span and surrounding pathways do not meet accessibility standards and because the low-lying bridge floods in the spring most years. The bridge has also closed because of ice concerns.
The span has been closed for dozens of days multiple times over the years, including 101 in 2022.
“Building the bridge on slightly higher ground could both improve existing issues and maintain what matters to the community,” the city says on its website.
“Putting a new bridge back in the old spot isn’t ideal. It wouldn’t improve the steep pathways or flooding.”
Winnipeggers can share their thoughts on the bridge through an online survey at http://wfp.to/yIp until June 10. There will also be a come-and-go meeting at the corner of Wolseley Avenue and Raglan Road from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on May 30.
fpcity@freepress.mb.ca