Thank you for participating in our New Louise Bridge Committee Community Survey!
The City of Winnipeg proposal to rehab the original 115 year-old Louise bridge will require bridge closure for a year and a half minimum. It’s a waste of $40 million. All we’ll get is the same one lane in each direction old bridge, and force 27,000 drivers daily to alternate routes adding to traffic congestion on already congested routes like Disraeli and Provencher.
The City of Winnipeg’s Transit Plan and 2050 Eastern Corridor Project recommended a new three lane in each direction bridge to serve the future needs of northeast Winnipeg. This plan will keep the original bridge open to traffic during construction beginning in 2028, just like the Disraeli Bridge construction 15 years ago.
Background
Over 25,000 vehicles per day cross the Louise Bridge which has served as a vital link for vehicular traffic between northeast Winnipeg and the downtown for the last 115 years.
The current structure will undoubtedly be declared unsafe in a few years as it has deteriorated extensively, becoming ‘functionally obsolete’, subject to more frequent, unplanned repairs and cannot be widened to accommodate future traffic capacity.
As far back as 2008, the City of Winnipeg (City) has studied where the new replacement bridge should be situated.
After including the bridge replacement in the City’s five-year capital budget forecast in 2009, the new bridge became a short-term construction priority in the City’s Transportation Master Plan of 2011.
City capital and budget plans identified replacement of the Louise Bridge on a site just east of the bridge and expropriated homes there on the south side of Nairn Street in anticipation of a 2015 start.
In 2014, the new City administration did not make use of available federal infrastructure funds and instead decided to fund an off-the-list low priority Waverley Underpass.
The New Louise Bridge Committee began its campaign to demand a new bridge and its surveys confirmed residents wanted a new bridge beside the current bridge, with the old bridge kept open for local traffic.
The NDP Provincial Government signaled its firm commitment to partner with the City on replacing the Louise Bridge in its 2015 Throne Speech. Unfortunately, provincial infrastructure initiatives, such as the new Louise Bridge, came to a halt with the election of the Progressive Conservative Government in 2016.
More recently, the City tethered the Louise Bridge replacement issue to its new Transportation Master Plan and Eastern Corridor Project. Its recommendations have now identified the location of the new Louise Bridge to be placed just to the west of the current bridge, not to the east as originally proposed. The City expropriation process has begun.
In July, 2024 the City’s Public Works Committee recommended the City rehabilitate the current old Louise Bridge given a replacement bridge wasn’t prioritized in the City budget and full closure would likely occur by 2030. Subsequently, city council approved a $40-million preliminary design that aims to extend the Louise Bridge’s life by at least 30 years, which called for construction no later than 2030. The result, however, will still be a one-lane in each direction that we have now, and doesn’t serve the future needs of northeast Winnipeg, including the Eastern Corridor bus transit project. Since the most recent closures due to corrosion and safety concerns, the City has apparently moved up the rehab start date to 2026.
Elmwood MLA Reports in the Winnipeg Free Press’ Community Review (Canstar Herald)
August 20, 2025
City’s Louise Bridge plan a dead-end
by Jim Maloway, MLA for Elmwood
Why waste $40 million and turn northeast Winnipeg into a parking lot for a year and a half?
On July 28, the City announced an extended closure of the Louise Bridge for the third time since the May 23 annual inspection, prompting Elmwood residents to ask why the City of Winnipeg is wasting $40 million renovating the Louise Bridge, a ‘functionally obsolete’ 115-year-old one lane in each direction bridge, when we were promised a brand new three lane in each direction bridge for $179 million which will last another 100 years.
With the new bridge’s site being chosen just to the west of the old bridge, work could begin on the planned replacement project, and the old bridge would remain left open for traffic — no closure and no inconvenience to drivers. No bumper-to-bumper traffic.
It’s a waste of $40 million because it doesn’t directly address our future needs as outlined in the City’s Transit Plan, and importantly, the rehab proposal of the one lane in each direction bridge would mean a key route for northeast Winnipeg would be closed for a year and a half during construction, minimum. That’s 27,000 vehicles daily finding alternate routes on already congested routes like Disraeli and Provencher.
A three-lane in each direction bridge was recommended by City Planners in the Winnipeg Transit Plan and, if construction starts as initially planned, would be built while the old bridge was open to traffic just like the new Disraeli Bridge project 15 years ago. That’s crucial to doing this project properly.
The May 2025 annual inspection uncovered corrosion that had to be fixed before the bridge could be re-opened. Since then, more corrosion has been found, and additional repairs are required resulting in an extension to the closure to early September. That’s a 75-day closure during summer months. Imagine a year and a half closure.
Let’s replace the bridge as planned, with the promised three lanes in each direction, and do it properly. Keep the old bridge open, and minimize the traffic disruption, just like we did with the Disraeli 15 years ago.
June 25th, 2025
We need a new Louise Bridge now.
by Jim Maloway, MLA for Elmwood
On May 30th, the City of Winnipeg announced its annual inspection of the 114-year-old Louise Bridge had uncovered corrosion that had to be repaired before the bridge could re-open. The City hopes this work would be completed by the end of July 2025. That’s more than a two-month closure while key steel structural parts and repairs to the bridge must be tendered, designed, poured, and installed.
The City helpfully suggested drivers who use the bridge daily plan alternate routes, such as the Disraeli Freeway or Provencher Bridge, and allow for additional travel time. That’s 27,000 drivers daily added to these already congested routes for this two-month summer period.
The City engineers tell us there’s only a five-year window before the functionally obsolete Louise Bridge may be declared unsafe and left to stand as a monument to shifting City priorities.
Again, yesterday’s indecisions and shifting priorities are today’s problems. To be fair, this is not a situation caused by anything this administration did. You have to go back to 2014 to see where that City administration dropped the ball. The City recently took their first misstep, a big backward step, to defer replacement by opting for a $40 million Louise Bridge rehabilitation – a total waste of $40 million of your tax dollars and your inconvenience of a full bridge closure while the bridge is being ‘rehabbed’. Transcona Councillor Russ Wyatt acknowledged a full closure could be a ‘disaster.’
The second and best choice would be to build the recommended three lane in each direction bridge to serve the future needs of northeast Winnipeg as a key link of the 2050 Eastern Corridor Project at a cost of $179 million. The old bridge would remain left open for traffic – no closure and no inconvenience to drivers – and tax dollars would be better spent as recommended by City planners.
Band-aid solutions never work and it’s not too late to do the right thing budget-wise and traffic-wise.
Recent news articles:
Winnipeg Free Press, Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Councillors push for new Louise Bridge
There are renewed calls to replace the 115-year-old Louise Bridge after it recently shut down for months.
On Tuesday, councillors at the East Kildonan-Transcona community committee meeting voted to ask the public works committee to take another look at replacing the bridge that links Point Douglas to Elmwood. Specifically, the committee will be asked to refer a new bridge with at least four lanes, two in either direction, for consideration in the city’s 2026 budget process. The current span has one lane in each direction.
The move to plan a replacement, in case new funding becomes available, was sparked by its lengthy closure that tied up traffic on nearby routes, including the Disraeli Freeway, over the summer.
Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona) said he felt compelled to raise the motion due to residents’ complaints, despite the fact city council voted just last year to rehabilitate the bridge instead of building a new one.
“Now, we’re hearing from our constituents. We’ve had a (maintenance) project this summer… that kept getting delayed. We are risking an Arlington Bridge scenario here, whereby, all of a sudden, we get a surprise and we have to close the entire bridge permanently,” said Wyatt.
The Louise Bridge closed May 23 for an annual inspection and maintenance. It was originally expected to reopen May 27, but that date was delayed multiple times after crews discovered more extensive repairs were needed. It finally reopened to traffic on Aug. 22.
The Arlington Bridge, which opened in 1912, closed suddenly on Nov. 21, 2023, due to structural concerns. It remains closed, though the city has promised to demolish the structure and design its replacement.
In 2024, city council approved a $40-million preliminary design that aims to extend the Louise Bridge’s life by at least 30 years, which called for construction no later than 2030.
Wyatt said that decision shouldn’t stick because Winnipeg needs more strategic infrastructure investments to address traffic congestion.
“(We should) build what we need for the future,” he said.
Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) joined Wyatt to support the motion Tuesday.
Browaty said federal interest in certain types of infrastructure could raise the city’s chances of securing funding for the new bridge, though it would be weighed against other capital projects.
“(This motion is) not saying we’re going to go build a brand-new Louise Bridge tomorrow. But what it is saying is, let’s have another conversation about it, because with old infrastructure, there is the risk of unplanned, extended closures, even after a major investment,” he said.
Browaty and Wyatt are the only current members of the community committee, which has had a vacancy since Elmwood-East Kildonan Coun. Jason Schreyer died in April.
Kyle Roche and Braydon Mazurkiewich, who are both candidates in the Oct. 25 Elmwood-East Kildonan byelection, both advocated for a new bridge, instead of a repair, at the Tuesday community committee meeting.
“I’m happy that the bridge is open now but we can’t be without this for the next couple of summers. This is a main artery to get people from northeast Winnipeg to St. Boniface Hospital, (Health Sciences Centre),” said Mazurkiewich.
However, the head of council’s public works committee said she plans to vote against the idea to reconsider a full replacement of the aging bridge, noting council already voted to repair it.
“If we can spend $40 million, versus (more than) $100 million, (and the repair is) going to buy us another 30 years, in my mind… that was sufficient,” said Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West). “No. 1, we don’t have the money because our (top infrastructure) priority is the (upgrade to the north end) sewage treatment plant. We have to be able to flush our toilets,” added Lukes.
A 2024 city report estimates a new Louise Bridge could cost $142 million for four lanes or $179 million for six lanes. The sewage treatment plant upgrade is expected to cost more than $3 billion.
Lukes said a bridge expansion would also equate to “over building.”
“Right now… the need is not there yet. (Our traffic experts) project in 25 to 30 years that lots of development will continue to occur (and) then that would support building a much more elaborate bridge and transit corridor,” she said.
Lukes said she understands this summer’s closure raised fears about the Louise Bridge’s future, not that long after Arlington Bridge was permanently shuttered.
“There’s concern any time a bridge closes due to the Arlington Bridge scenario. We all have that lingering in the back of our minds … but we have already voted on (the Louise Bridge repair). We decided, we’re moving along,” said Lukes.
The public works committee is expected to vote on Wyatt’s bridge replacement motion next month.
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca
X: @joyanne_pursaga
An excellent summary of the history of the Louise Bridge:
CBC News
Winnipeg’s Louise Bridge changed the course of history, but its future is uncertain
The bridge that opened in 1881, shaped the city and helped attract the national railway, is showing its age
Darren Bernhardt · CBC News · Posted: Jul 30, 2025 5:00 AM CDT | Last Updated: July 30
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/louise-bridge-history-winnipeg-1.7595442
Extended Louise Bridge closure will prolong ‘bumper to bumper’ rush hour traffic, area residents say
CBC News · Posted: Jul 28, 2025 5:12 PM CDT | Last Updated: July 28
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/louise-bridge-winnipeg-closure-repairs-1.7595804