The Omand’s Creek footbridge in Wolseley is open once again, thanks to a pair of area residents who took matters into their own hands when they couldn’t wait for the city.
The high-traffic bridge had been covered in ice due to fall flooding that froze over, and was expected to be closed until spring — at least until Saturday afternoon.
Wolseley resident Brad Hignell told 680 CJOB the bridge was being used regularly by the community despite the ice, and that residents would just move city signs and a snow fence out of the way to get across.
Hignell saw a social media post from another area man, Chris Beauvilain, who wanted to do something about the ice, so they met up at the park and did the job themselves.
“People have been taking the signs and snow fence down every day so they can use the bridge,” said Hignell.
“The busy beavers at the city were fastidiously putting it up again every day, so we removed that, stacked it neatly at the top of the hill so they could remove it. We chipped all the ice away, and spread some gravel down to make it safe because it was a little bit slippery.”
Hignell said his shoveling partner had called 311 and was told he’d get a response in 30 days, which wasn’t soon enough.
“It’s part of the commute for a lot of people,” he said. “It’s part of an exercise route for the loop people run through Wolseley and Wellington Crescent.”
“It really shows [the city is] out of touch with the needs of the community. Hopefully now they know the bridge is important to people.
“For me it’s not a big deal — I’d rather be at home joining my kids on the couch and making them laugh and whatnot rather than freezing my butt off outside, but it was a nice day, and I made a friend in the process.”
Hignell understands the city has priorities and that the footbridge was likely relatively low on that list, but said it was a simple fix — one that could’ve been done by city crews who were busy reinstalling the “unsightly yellow and orange construction signs” every day.
“You’ve got this bridge, people use it. Maintain your infrastructure. It’s a very simple thing to take care of.”
The City of Winnipeg provided a statement about the bridge, saying they don’t take these types of closures lightly.
“What the residents did at the Omand’s Creek footbridge, though well-intentioned – did not mitigate the public safety risk that existed at this location as it went beyond simply clearing ice off the bridge surface.
“When the ice formed, expanded, and contracted on the pathways, it created a two-layered system of thick, uneven surface that made the trail incredibly steep and unstable and also left a sharp drop-off leading onto the bridge.”
The city said the risk of taking machinery down the pathways to properly clear them outweighed re-opening the area to winter foot traffic, with safety as the main priority.
“Opening and closing bridge structures can only be done by Professional Engineers; the residents who ultimately cleared and reopened the bridge had no way of knowing whether the structure was sound.
Luckily, an inspection by our bridge engineers this morning confirmed that the bridge had not sustained any structural damage due to the ice nor subsequent unsanctioned clearing.
“The overall area, however, remained unsafe, and we have now mobilized crews to attempt to clear some of the pathway ice. It is important to note that this operation will only be completed if the crews are able to safely ascend and descend the pathways with their equipment.
Beauvilain told Global News that it should have been a simple fix, especially considering the amount of use the bridge gets.
“As a resident, I was just sort of confused,” he said. “The holidays are coming and the kids want to use the toboggan park, and it’s a major active transportation route.
“I have little kids and they’re excited to be out of school next week. This is a major route. I don’t get why the city is fighting us on this instead of pitching in and helping.”
Local resident Louis Dufault told Global News he was in support of Beauvilain and Hignell’s efforts.
“I thought that was a good idea. I would think that most of the people here that use it would think it’s a good idea,” he said.
“We don’t want to wait ’til spring and wait for the ice to melt. That would be quite a long time for the bridge to be closed.”
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