Consensus builds for northern dikes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/04/2009 (6268 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The worst of the Red River flood may still come, but already provincial and municipal leaders are planning how they can avoid a repeat of what’s being called the year of the ice.

Two items on the agenda are a permanent diking system on vulnerable spots along the Red River north of Winnipeg and settling once and for all the problem of closing Highway 75 at Morris when water goes over the bridge at the north end of town.

St. Clements Reeve Steve Strang and St. Andrews Reeve Don Forfar said they don’t want to fight any more floods like this year north of the city.

"I’ve been reeve for 11 years and this is my fifth flood," Forfar said.

"I want a permanent diking system," Strang added. "That way we can all watch the water going by."

Premier Gary Doer, who toured the flood zone by air Wednesday, said once the flood threat has passed, he wants to meet with local and federal officials to hammer out a plan for permanent dikes north of the city and to look at what can be done to keep Highway 75 open. Much of the Red River Valley south of the city is high and dry due to flood-proofing measures taken after the 1997 flood — but the bridge at Morris is underwater again as it was in 2006 and 1997.

Doer said the provincial government is looking for the best option to keep the highway open during spring flooding so that elevating the highway or building a bypass won’t change the flow of flood water.

"We’ve got some ideas on that, but I want to make sure we know that if you protect one community you don’t get unintended consequences and more flooding in another community," Doer said. "But it’s definitely something we have to do. I agree Morris has to be dealt with."

Others say the province has no choice but to act and the sooner the better.

The province is positioning itself as the trucking hub of central North America through the CentrePort project, which takes in Winnipeg’s airport and the Port of Churchill. Proponents hope to make the city the place where cargo from all over the world is shipped in by air and then trucked out for distribution.

The closure of Highway 75, the main route south, is the weak link. The route is worth about $14.4 billion a year in trade between the United States and Canada and is the linchpin of CentrePort’s development at the airport, said Chris Lorenc, president of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association.

"It’s a major artery of commerce to both business and the public sector," Lorenc said. "If Highway 75 develops a reputation as being an unreliable corridor, that impairs Manitoba’s reputation."

Conservative MLA Mavis Taillieu, who represents Morris, said the Doer government had three years to study the problem when the highway was last closed, but did nothing other than push CentrePort.

"Now it’s three years later and here we are again," she said.

In September, Ottawa and the Manitoba government announced $85 million in joint funding for improvements to the highway, but no plan has been settled upon.

Most of the highway has been upgraded since 1997.

Morris Mayor Dale Hoffman said a public meeting on the issue was to be held last December, but was postponed at the province’s request. Several options to keep the road open during flood season were to be discussed.

"They weren’t ready back then and they’re still not ready," Hoffman said. "The time frame is theirs. We’ve been waiting very patiently."

bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca