Province begins work on $83M Morris bridge replacement

Manitoba has begun work on replacing a decades-old bridge along Highway 75 in the Town of Morris.

The province started discussions with local officials and land owners in March about the $83 million project, which would see a new bridge built across the Morris River, a provincial spokesperson told The Carillon in an email.

Mayor Scott Crick said the replacement was needed as the 57-year-old bridge approaches the end of its life.

“It’s certainly not the newest bridge…and it is at a point now where I believe the structure itself does need some replacement,” he said.

Previous provincial work to prolong its use included adding a pedestrian walkway and resurfacing the bridge multiple times, Crick noted.

The new design won’t be flood-proof as the province has already established a detour on Highway 246 when the river crests. But the replacement bridge will still be raised “a couple feet” to avoid the higher water levels from the spring melt and prevent more frequent bridge closures, Crick said.

“If we do have minor flooding and can leave that bridge open longer, it’s better for businesses at the north end of town, which do get bypassed when people come in using the bypass,” he said.

Roughly 10 years ago, the province planned to raise the bridge and Highway 75 above the dike, but that proposal was scuttled due to high costs. Attention was instead diverted to reinforcing the detour route.

Crick expects construction to start by 2028.

Cheryl Demarcke, president of the Morris & District Chamber of Commerce, views the bridge as a crucial piece of infrastructure for the transportation corridor running from the U.S. border to The Port of Churchill. She’s seen traffic through the town drop as trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. continue to linger. The Pembina/Emerson port of entry recorded 350,783 crossings in 2025, a 40 percent drop from 2024, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data.

When 2022 flooding closed the bridge and turned Morris into a peninsula with one exit in or out on Highway 23, Demarcke said travellers avoided driving through the town, which hurt local businesses.

“Morris is a gateway to the Red River and the Pembina Valley, you know, especially with traffic coming south from Winnipeg,” she said. “It’s that drive-by traffic that’s affecting our retailers or restaurants or gas stations.”

While the province has promised that vehicles can still use the bridge while under construction, Demarcke is still cautious about any traffic disruptions.

The province expects to host a open house this fall, with the preliminary design set to be completed by spring 2027.