The current Louise Bridge, spanning the Red River from Stadacona St in Elmwood, to Higgins Ave in Point Douglas, was constructed in 1910, making it over 115 years old. It has begun to show its age, and is now considered to be in poor condition. It currently requires annual closures for reactive repairs and requires significant work to remain operational, causing headaches for residents while the bridge is out of commission due to these annual closures. It’s scheduled for a much-needed overhaul between now and 2030.
As there is a lot of conflicting information (and misinformation) circulating about this project, my office has created this primer in order to help residents understand the state of the bridge project.
What is being done?
The Louise Bridge is set to undergo substantial repairs between now and 2030. The project will rehabilitate the existing two-lane bridge to improve its condition, increase vertical clearance (to 4.15m) and strengthen the bridge.
This will help maintain current service levels related to capacity, safety and condition, and will provide a minimum of 30 years of service life.
Why not replace it with a new bridge entirely?
The estimated cost for repairing the Louise Bridge is $40 million, which will buy us 30 years of service, or $1.3 million per year of service. Meanwhile, the estimated cost for its replacement, on the other hand, is $179 million for 75 years of service, or $2.4 million per year of service.
Source: May 2024 Louise Bridge Rehabilitation Report, page 2.
That makes the repair much more cost-effective, which is an important factor when considering taxpayer funds. But, if that wasn’t enough of a cost difference, given that a replacement would likely be done with borrowed money, the replacement would cost an additional $10.1 million per year in debt service costs compared to the repair ($139 million difference x (5.5% interest + 1.78% principal rate for 30-year external debt).
Source: 2026 Preliminary Operating, Reserves and Capital Budget, page 82.
These additional costs would need to be paid either through a property tax increase (between 1-2%), or with cuts in services.
What about additional traffic capacity?
City engineers project that the existing bridge provides “adequate capacity for vehicular traffic, until around 2050”, which is approximately as long as this repair will last.
Source: May 2024 Louise Bridge Rehabilitation Report, page 3.
Isn’t the bridge replacement necessary for transit? What about plans for the Eastern Rapid Transit Corridor?
Some things are a matter of perspective. The Eastern Rapid Transit Corridor calls for two dedicated lanes over the bridge for transit. The current bridge already has two lanes, so there are enough lanes for transit. It would therefore be just as accurate to claim that the bridge replacement is necessary to add more vehicular lanes. But that doesn’t sound as altruistic.
If we want to expand the bridge to maintain dedicated lanes for transit AND personal vehicles, we should say that. But claiming that the expansion is necessary solely for transit’s benefit is misleading. If we want to prioritize transit’s movement, we can already do so.
How is this being funded?
Council has already budgeted just over $40 million from the Regional Street Renewal Reserve (money already set aside for road repairs), for design and construction work in the following years:
| 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
| $7.8 million | – | $2.0 million | $14.7 million | $17.1 million |
Source: Supplement to the 2026 Preliminary Budget, page 77
Still have questions?
My office would be happy to answer them. Feel free to contact us at:
Councillor Emma Durand-Wood
Elmwood-East Kildonan Ward, City of Winnipeg
510 Main Street
Winnipeg MB R2B 1B9
Send an email here
Or phone (204) 986-5195