A history of the Arlington Street Bridge - Part 3

© 2012, Christian Cassidy. Updated 2023.

This is a five part series on the history of Winnipeg's Arlington Street Bridge to commemorate the centenary of its opening on February 5, 1912.

Part 1: Spanning the Tracks

Part 2: Construction and Controversy

Part 3: The Bridge as "bugbear"

Part 4: What about the Nile River connection

Part 5: The Future of the Arlington Street Bridge

2023 UPDATE: End of the line for the Arlington Bridge?

Part 3: The Bridge as Bugbear

"Winnipeg’s Arlington Bridge is a long way from Egypt. And many motorists, pedestrians and bridge engineers often wish it were a long way from Winnipeg."
Archie Snow, Columnist, Winnipeg Free Press February 18, 1955

It was not long after the streetcar fiasco was finally put to rest in 1924 that the Arlington Street Bridge began a history of unexpected structural problems. (Note that I haven't trolled the newspapers for, say, the Salter Street Bridge to see what its record is in comparison to Arlington's so I am not sure if this is unique to just this bridge).

Winnipeg Evening Tribune, October 8, 1943

The first mention in newspapers of structural repairs to the bridge came in 1931 when $7,000 was spent to repair iron work corroded away by the acrid smoke from the locomotives below.

In 1943, a further $10,000 was set aside for deck repairs but the cost more than doubled once repairs got underway. The decay was so bad that the city was warned that if it the additional funds were not found to do the job the bridge could be closed.

In July 1946, a routine structural examination led to the immediate closure of the bridge.

The foundation of the approaches were found to be in such bad shape that timbers and temporary pilings were installed beneath them before the bridge temporarily reopened three days later. Council approved $50,000 and closed the structure for a two week period later that summer to make the repairs permanent.

Alderman John Blumberg said of the ongoing repairs:

"The Arlington Street Bridge will always be a bugbear. The sooner the bridge comes down and a modern one goes up, the sooner will the city maintain expenses."
July 30, 1946, Winnipeg Free Press

Replacing it, however, was not in the cards and the repairs continued.

Logan and Arlington ca. 1948 (Source)

In 1947, the city was presented with another urgent repair job: the replacement of the crumbling concrete sidewalks.

One side had already collapsed onto the iron deck below and was closed off, now the other side was unstable. the city's bridge committee chairman E. E. Hallonquist exclaimed at the committee meeting "Let's give it back to Cleopatra!", a reference to the story that the bridge's superstructure was originally constructed to traverse the Nile River.

Another $50,000 was spent in April 1948 to install 'blast shields' beneath the bridge's decking. It was hoped that these plates would stop, or at least slow down, the corrosion of the deck caused by the acidic smoke from the locomotives below.

There was also an extended closure in 1952.

July 26, 1968, Winnipeg Tribune

In the summer of 1965, the bridge was closed for a month and $40,000 was invested to make it safe for a five-year period while the city hired an outside firm to conduct a detailed study of the life span of the bridge. The study was likely precipitated by the collapse of the Kansas City Melan Arch Bridge in July.

Upon its reopening, load restrictions were put in place that banned buses and trucks from the bridge. The speed limit was decreased from 30 miles-per-hour to 15.

D.I. McDonald, Metro Winnipeg's streets director, delivered the dire results from the inspection to the city's streets and transportation committee in 1967. The Arlington Street Bridge was in its final phase of its functional life and was being inspected every second day. Councillors were warned that the bridge might have to be closed for good on very short notice. At te very latest, the bridge wold have to close for good in 1972.

Outlining the findings of the 1965 third-party study, McDonald said:

Despite this (inspection) program there exists a serious concern for the continued safety of the structure …. It is not possible to give the committee any definite assurance that the structure can be maintained in continuous use for any specific period of time.

December 21, 1967. Winnipeg Free Press.

June 13, 1970, Winnipeg Free Press

McDonald recommended that city council immediately approve $400,000 to start the process to construct a new overpass that would link Sherbrook and McGregor streets and make the Arlington Bridge redundant. The project was still in the early stages of planning but rushing it along could see the it open by the time the Arlington Bridge had to permanently close in 1972.

The city approved the funding but Metro Winnipeg council spent a year waiting for the city to work out some of the 'on the ground' issues in the vicinity of the new bridge. In July 1968, Metro was so frustrated by the delays that it ordered an immediate start to the project. (July 26, 1968, Winnipeg Free Press).

A preliminary plan was drawn up by the city's streets committee and it was described by the Free Press in the following way:

"The structure would have six traffic lanes and would connect to Furby and Sherbrook streets, which would be converted to one way streets north of Notre Dame, and to McGregor and McKenzie streets on the north side, which would also be converted to one-way streets."

July 26, 1968, Winnipeg Free Press

The Sherbrook-McGregor overpass would cost the city in the neighbourhood of $20 million which it hoped to share with a federal infrastructure fund. An estimate to refurbish the Arlington Street Bridge, (with no assurance of exactly how long it would last after the repairs), was $1 million.

The city waited too long to make a final decision about building the new bridge. By the end of 1968, Ottawa announced major cutbacks in its budget for urban renewal projects. This not only eliminated the proposed funding for the new overpass but left other projects, some that had already begun construction, fighting for more city and provincial cash to finish them off.

The Sherbrook McGregor Overpass went on the back burner and the Arlington Street Bridge would live to see another day.

The Arlington Street Bridge was closed for its most extensive repairs to-date in 1972.

In a period of two months, the surface metal decking and concrete was replaced, the tops of the concrete piers repaired, and a drain pipe system was installed. When it reopened, trucks and buses were still banned from the structure but the 30 mile-per-hour speed limit was reinstated.

While the Sherbrook-McGregor project waited to get back on track, another large infrastructure project was inserted into the overpass debate: the relocation of the CPR rail yards which, of course, would eliminate the need for any bridges.

The prospect of moving the yards came in a report published by the federal government in 1972 that looked at the relationship between urban centres and the rail industry.

The feds were willing to pay up to fifty per cent of the cost of relocation, something that federal Urban Affairs Minister Ron Basford reiterated when he visited Winnipeg to tour the site in June 1974. An initial round of talks about the relocation ended in 1975 without any formal agreement.

Since then, the city initiated its own study on moving the yards in 1976 after finding that yet another bridge, this time the Salter Street Bridge, was in poor condition and would have to be replaced soon. Community members pressured the city and federal governments to revisit the topic in the late 1970s as a way to scuttle the construction of the Sherbrook-McGregor Overpass (see below).

The relocation debate has been little more than talk since 1974 and in the meantime the city continued to inspect and repair the Arlington Street Bridge.

June 13, 1973, Winnipeg Free Press

The Sherbrook-McGregor Overpass returned to the public agenda in 1978 when public consultations about the project began.

In the years since the project was first proposed, a significant community opposition had been mounted against it. This was particularly strong on the Sherbrook Street side of the tracks that would see an urban highway cut through many middle and lower income residential areas. Opposition was led by formidable foes such as Sister McNamara.

By 1979, it was clear that the Sherbrook-McGregor overpass would not see the light of day. Some suggested the city go back to the drawing board to find something more palatable for community members.

A frustrated Mayor Steen felt that the city should still go ahead with the overpass as planned, noting that the millions of dollars had been spent over the years studying it and drawing up plans. "The area has been studied to death" he complained. (December 5, 1978, Winnipeg Free Press).

The 1970s ended without an agreement on rail yard relocation or the Sherbrook-McGregor Overpass. The city had no choice but to invest in its existing spans, including a brand-new Salter Street Bridge, renamed in honour of the "unofficial mayor of the North End" Slaw Rebchuk, that opened in October 1986.

Wooden planks under approach ca. 2010

In 1992, the Arlington Street Bridge was closed for six months for a $5 million refurbishment expected to add another 10 - 20 years to its life span.

In May and June of 2000, the bridge had a pair of near-death experiences after separate train derailments made impact with the bridge supports. Structural repairs were done and the bridge went back into service by the end of the year.

In early 2011, the city announced a new $1.5 million study of the Arlington Street Bridge and how best to plan for the future transportation needs of the area.

In 2018, the city began a public consultation process about the replacement of the bridge.  Project Advisory Community Committee members were told that the bridge was yet again coming to the end of its functional life and would be decommissioned in 2024.

A final design was approved by city council in 2019, though it wasn't the same design that that public consultation process arrived at. There was no funding or timeline attached to the approval.

On November 21, 2023, it was announced that the Arlington Street Bridge had failed its latest inspection and was closed immediately to both vehicles and pedestrians indefinitely.

Part 6: End of the line for the Arlington Street Bridge?