St. Vital’s Paul Taillfer is no stranger to the South Perimeter Highway during rush hour.
"Pretty busy, I mean it backs up,” said Taillfer.
He says the backlog could get worse, with a lane closed on the bridge going over the Red River.
"It's going to be terrible down here,” said Taillfer.
Pending a further assessment, Manitoba Infrastructure says it decided to shut the westbound curb lane down, after a crew noticed a crack on the bridge.
"Where the traffic is travelling right now it is safe right now there is not any cracking the bridge is safe to travel on, we're watching it," said Ruth Eden, Manitoba Infrastructure.
In 2016 an Auditor General report found the province was not doing the proper number of bridge inspections. Since then, the province says it's now doing more than 75% of what's required for level one inspections, an annual visual once over, with the goal of full compliance.
Level One Inspections:
- 2016/17: 1,425
- 2017/18: 2,058
- 2018/19 Ongoing
Level two inspections are more detailed. The province says its already meeting or exceeding targets on those inspections.
Level Two Inspections:
- 2016/17 893
- 2017/18 938
- 2018/19 1034
Plus Manitoba Infrastructure says staff are always on the lookout.
"They're travelling the network a lot, they're always looking for something, if there's something that doesn't look right they will call us,” said Eden.
The City of Winnipeg has two staff members with the primary job of inspecting 217 structures. Major bridges are done on a two-year-cycle, minor ones a three-year basis.
"Those are pretty well industry standards but sometimes we inspect bridges on a more regular basis, such as the Arlington Bridge," said Darren Burmey, city bridge planning & operations engineer.
Back at the south Perimeter bridge, the province says it won't know when the lane will reopen. It all depends on the assessment and if repairs are needed.
"If it needs to be repaired and it needs to be shut down and done right, we have to live with it,” said Paul Taillfer.
