Arlington Bridge replacement should be priority, Winnipeg councillor says

The councillor for Winnipeg’s Mynarski ward says the city isn’t acting fast enough to replace the Arlington Bridge.

An engineering study released last month has called for the complete replacement of the iconic 112-year-old bridge, instead of repairing it as the city had initially hoped.

Coun. Ross Eadie told Global Winnipeg that the proposed replacement has a six-year timeline, but the city needs to jump on it sooner rather than later, due to the bridge’s importance as a transportation option for people from all over the city.

Without the bridge — which has remained closed since last November — traffic is often backed up, especially during rush hour, he said.

“There’s a lot of reference to ‘the North End always gets the short end of the stick’, but the Arlington Bridge is more than just the North End — it’s the North End, West End, Central, up in Old Kildonan, Garden City… a lot of people there would use it.”

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The proposed new design comes with a price tag of at least $166 million, and Eadie said the potential for continually increasing costs is another reason the city needs to get started now.

“The demolition’s going to take two years, because it’s over the railway,” he said.

“We need to start funding at least — at a minimum — the $16 million for the demolition to start in ’25. It’s a six-year project, so 2030 is when it’s going to open. That’s a long way away.”

Eadie said there are currently no funding agreements with either the feds or the province, but he hopes both levels of government will get involved.

2:53 Winnipeg’s Arlington Bridge more than just infrastructure

Winnipeg mayor Scott Gillingham told 680 CJOB’s The Start that a budget crunch is impacting the situation, while acknowledging the importance of the bridge replacement.

“We just got the report weeks ago on what needs to be done with the Arlington Bridge,” the mayor said.

“This goes back, really, to municipal funding. If the city were to fund the Arlington Bridge replacement on our own, we would use up the rest of our debt capacity.

“We have to weigh that project against other projects as well.”

Another major infrastructure initiative that will need to be tackled in the near future, Gillingham said, is the St. James Bridge — which takes considerably more traffic than the Arlington Bridge did when it was open, and is also a truck route and part of a big transit route.

“Those are two projects we need to talk to the province about, and really get financial assistance on those projects from senior levels of government.

“We haven’t shelved this — this is an active conversation about the Arlington Bridge, the St. James Bridge, and other infrastructure projects.”

0:31 Arlington Bridge update

• Arlington Bridge update
• No band-aid solutions: Questions remain over permanent fate of Arlington Bridge
• ‘No band-aid solutions’: City engineer on Arlington Bridge woes
• Coun. Ross Eadie wants action on Arlington Bridge
• Arlington Bridge closed indefinitely
• Winnipeg weighing ‘feasible rehabilitation’ options for Arlington Bridge following closure
• Arlington Bridge to close for repairs on Thursday

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