Reopening historic rail bridge comes with multi-million dollar price tag

Repairs to the historic 110-year-old rail bridge at The Forks could come with a multi-million dollar price tag.

‘No Trespassing’ signs greet visitors hoping to take a stroll across the historic structure.

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“We want it open as soon as possible. We recognize that it's a huge access point to and through our site,” said Zach Peters, the communications and marketing manager at The Forks.

The bridge, built in 1914, has been closed since June 2023 due to safety concerns.

“We're still in the process of looking for what the solutions could be,” Peters said.

But that solution may come with a hefty price tag. Peters said initial engineering reports estimate the cost to repair the bridge could be more than $10 million.

“Currently, we're doing some remediation work on the counterweight that was required. And so that's sort of the first step of the process,” he said. “In the near future, we do hope to have some kind of short-term or long-term solution figured out that we could share with the public.”

Peters said at this point there is no timeline for when the bridge may reopen.

It can’t come soon enough for Bike Winnipeg Executive Director Mark Cohoe.

“Hearing that it's a fairly sort of unknown timeline that's a bit worrisome,” Cohoe told CTV News.

Cohoe said the bridge is an important connection in the city’s active transportation network. Its closure leaves a disconnect for cyclists.

“Not having it means we're detouring,” he said.

He hopes all three levels of government will pitch in to cover the cost and get the bridge open as soon as possible.

“We have to look beyond funding this through just the city or just The Forks,” he said. “We really think it's something that the more senior levels of the government should be looking at as well.”

Peters said all levels of government are aware of the situation; however, he noted The Forks hasn’t put in an official request for the $10 million project.

“Because we don't know if that's going to be the exact number. If there's a less expensive short-term fix, maybe that's the direction we go,” he said.

In the meantime, Peters said The Forks has heard the concerns from the cycling community.

“It's not, unfortunately, a solution we have yet, and so we're still trying to figure that out,” he said.