Less expensive flood mitigation expected for Morris highway

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This article was published 16/11/2017 (2894 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba government is expected to forgo plans to raise a section of Highway 75 for flood proofing and reroute traffic along the St. Mary’s Road extension instead.

The Town of Morris says it has all but been told that the province no longer wants to raise the town’s bridge over the Morris River, or raise the 12-kilometre stretch of Highway 75 between towns Morris and Aubigny.

Instead, the province is expected to pave Highway 246, which runs parallel to Highway 75 between the two towns, to accommodate transport trucks and other traffic in a flood. It will also raise some low spots on Highway 246.

Manitoba Infrastructure refused to comment but suggested news could be imminent.

“The province will announce the tenders for projects slated for the next construction season on Friday,” a spokesman said.

The Town of Morris’s first choice is to raise Highway 75, said Mayor Gavin van der Linde.

That way businesses like stores, gas stations, and restaurants still benefit from vehicle traffic during the four-to-six weeks when the town closes its ring dike due to flooding.

It looked like the province was fully prepared to do that.

It had already purchased two properties adjacent to the bridge on the north side of Morris.

But complications arose. Provincial officials told van der Linde they discovered that raising Highway 75 north of Morris would act as a dike and change the movement of floodwaters. That would artificially flood land that currently doesn’t get flooded.

The province realized it would have to include control structures in the form of two bridges and some large culverts, which would add to the cost.

As well, the bridge over the Morris River would have to be raised by more than five metres.

“The reason for that is the bridge now is six feet underwater in a bad flood. The province wanted to raise the bottom girders so they are out of the water and don’t trap trees and debris, and that’s another 10 feet,” said van der Linde. These factors caused the cost for the option to balloon to $200 million, or double the cost to pave and raise Highway 246.

However, the high traffic volume would have to pass through a school zone with a speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour. Something will have to be done to ensure student safety, he said.

It’s imperative for CentrePort that the Transcontinental Trade Corridor be kept open during floods, said Terry Shaw, executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association.

However, the detour may be “the best option relative to budgets.”

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca