Manitoba truckers face annual Red dread

MORRIS, Man. – A particularly wet Canadian winter once again means that Prairie truckers could be dealing with flooded highways this spring.

Especially during April, when the Red River floods.

According to local media reports, expect spring floods to once again cut off the vital Highway-75 link, south of the provincial capital.

Two years ago, more than two klicks of 75 were severed for two weeks and dozens of other secondary roads across the province were closed during one of the of the largest floods in Manitoba’s history.

With traveling choices limited, trucks were required to take a 100-km detour to get to the U.S.

Manitoba Trucking Association (MTA) president Bob Dolyniuk estimated the flood cost the industry in the neighborhood of a quarter of a million dollars a day.

And Dolyniuk said he’s “dreading” this spring.

The MTA has been lobbying for an upgrade to Highway 59, which runs parallel to 75, but it doesn’t appear to be in the cards.

So when Spring comes, truckers heading to and from the States will be looking at detours on highways 3 and 14.

Dolyniuk said the lack of a more direct detour doesn’t reflect well on the province.

“We talk about Manitoba being a transportation hub … but people shipping goods want to see consistent service,” he told the Winnipeg Sun.