Businesses is Morris along Highway 75 are rejoicing as officials re-opened the main route to the U.S. Monday evening.
The barrier has been up for nearly a month after high water on the Red River forced the closure April 18.
Few are as thrilled about the re-opening as Lisa Wiebe, whose popular truck stop has been hit hard financially.
“Oh, it’s huge. Normally I order fuel every second or third day. Today I ordered fuel for the second time since April 18,” says Wiebe, who insists she’s lost tens of thousands of dollars this past month. Her bottom line has been hit before, when the same highway closed for 35 days in 2009.
Drivers will benefit from the opening too. Cars traveling from Winnipeg to the U.S. border were facing about a 20 minute detour during the closure, but for truck drivers, it tacked on up to two hours more to their trip and major dollars in fuel costs.
“In a day, I’d say about two or three hundred dollars,” says Kent Stoake, who hauls between Grand Forks and Winnipeg up to three times day.
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