Traffic hell coming to south Winnipeg this summer?
The City is preparing to rebuild the Fort Garry Bridge along Bishop Grandin. This project will reduce the bridge to half its capacity for the next two summers.
Meanwhile, the west-bound lanes of the south perimeter bridge remain closed because of quality concerns about recent construction work. The span will have to undergo significant repair, and might even be knocked down and rebuilt again.
I’ve been wondering for the past few months if the City and Province were smart enough to work together on this situation, given the traffic chaos it could create for those living in St. Vital and Fort Garry. Richard Cloutier put the question to the Assistant Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation on ‘OB this morning, and the response wasn’t encouraging:
“If the Bishop Grandin bridges need to be closed for repairs it’s gonna have an impact on traffic because there’s going to be less available lanes to get across the river.”
Well thanks for that stunning insight. If Brian Barkley goes on vacation next summer maybe CJOB can have this guy in the Traffic Cruiser to explain to drivers they’ve been stuck in traffic for an hour (spewing greenhouse gases no less!) because no one at the city or province could be bothered to pick up the phone.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: City of Winnipeg, fort garry bridge, province of manitoba, south perimeter bridge
Traffic is brutal in the mornings over the bridge as it is now. I can’t wait to see what it will be like once they close one of the bridges.
On the bright side, the only real difference it will make to many is that it will take them longer to get to Kenaston and not move there.
You’ve got to be kidding about the south Perimeter. That’s fucking nuts. How am I going to get to baseball after work?
All hail the perimeter highway.
I see the silver lining. Perhaps more people will cycle or take public transit?
@Michael - It would be nice if they did, and certainly relieve some of the pressure, but I really doubt that most people will see the collective benefit. Instead, I could see even more commuters choosing to not take transit, as service will be even slower than it is now.
Janice Lukes and the South East Winnipeg trails group have successfully lobbied for urgent work on the Bishop Grandin Greenway Trail this spring. U of M students living in St. Vital will be able to bypass the traffic jams and enjoy a leisurely (and healthy) cycle to school.
Sounds like a great time to open a motorcycle dealership in front of St. Vital mall.
Transit, bikers? On a major highway? Right a prime cause of death because of stupidity to be riding a bike on a highway. The 101 south is a major connector for truck and tourist traffic heading up and down from the US thru hwy 75 and East to West on the no. 1. The only other routes really are the the 2 lane provincial roads hwy 23 by Morris and the 305 to hwy 59 and up again which have older tired bridges. The northern perimeter route is a mess with the choke point at Dugald road causing problems and the bridge repair at Fermor and the perimeter during the summer. Man what a screw up by the NDP.
Cherenkov wrote:
>You’ve got to be kidding about the south Perimeter. >That’s fucking nuts. How am I going to get to >baseball after work?
You *could* swim to Canwest Park.