'Cars and vehicles were just flying': rail replacement leaves bumpy ride on Bison Drive

The replacement of a railway crossing in south Winnipeg left some cars 'flying' over an accidental speed hump and has resulted in the city warning drivers to slow down.

Videos shared on social media show vehicles on Bison Drive in Winnipeg nearly going airborne after hitting a recently repaired rail crossing.

"Monday, we had a lot of high-flying activity going on out here over the rail line," said area councillor Janice Lukes. "Cars and vehicles were just flying."

The issue comes after a repair job over the weekend.

Ken Allen, the communications coordinator for the city's public works department, told CTV News city and CN crews replaced a section of rail at the crossing on Bison Drive.

However, the new rails were placed higher than expected.

"As the ground had previously sunk at that location, the repair resulted in an uneven pavement surface at the crossing. As a result, crews made a temporary asphalt repair in order to be able to reopen the crossing to traffic as soon as possible," Allen said in an email.

Lukes said the section had to be closed down completely for the duration of the repairs.

"Ultimately it is the city's decision whether to open the road or not," said Lukes, adding the city engineer on staff at the time looked at the situation and determined the road could be reopened.

Lukes said she got a lot of calls about the bumpy section of road, which she said sees about 24,000 vehicles every day. She said city crews returned to the site on Tuesday to put up warning signs.

Allen confirmed speed bump signs and 30 km/h warning signs have been installed warning drivers to slow down until further repairs can be made.

Lukes said in the meantime, the street will be closed again this coming weekend for further repairs.

"I'm not too pleased that it is going to take till the weekend to redo it," she said. "I don't know why they can't get on it and get the asphalt team and close the road down for the day and just fix it – but greater wisdoms I guess prevail than mine."

Aleen said the city and CN crews are currently working together to plan and schedule the needed repairs as quickly as possible for this coming weekend.

Lukes summarizes the entire ordeal as a 'massive communication breakdown.' She said she expects some claims will be made due to damage to vehicles driving over the rail crossing.