Flooding closes major Manitoba highway between Winnipeg and U.S.

Sections of Highway 75, a major artery between Winnipeg and the U.S. border,were shut down Tuesday to prepare for flooding.

The decision by provincial officials to block traffic on the highway will have a significant commercial impact, say businesses.

"It will be very quiet around here," said Lisa Wiebe, who works at a Morris-area store. "About 80 to 85 per cent of our customers are the truck drivers going to and from the states into Winnipeg. If they close the highway, they will be routed around us, and we will kind of be like a ghost town out here."

The highway will be temporarily closed from Winnipeg to approximately 20 kilometres south of Morris. It will reopen when the flood threat has passed, say officials.

'It will be very quiet around here. About 80 to 85 per cent of our customers are the truck drivers going to and from the states into Winnipeg . We will kind of be like a ghost town out here' Lisa Wiebe

The road is a major route for trucker Mark Zubkavich, who said the detours will cost him valuable time.

"My normal route is from Winnipeg down to Lansing, Mich., and [Hwy 75] is my main artery south. If I can't take this route, then I have to find another route, and I can't think of one off the top of my head that is going to be as simple," he said.

The local economy in Morris, which is about 70 kilometres south of Winnipeg, is expected to lose out on tens of thousands of dollars, said Mayor Dale Hoffman, whowants the province to reroute the highway to higher ground so the problem doesn't happen again in the future.

The flood crest ispredicted to arrive in Morris around April 11, but water is expected to cover much of the land around the area sooner than that as warm temperatures this week melt the heavy snowpack.

Already in Emerson, about 45 kilometres south of Morris, the wateris roughly eight feet higher than street level, being held back by dikes, said Emerson emergency measures coordinator Bill Spanjer.

Despite that, Spanjer is optimistichis town will make it through this year's flood relatively unscathed. The flood protection measures taken over many years, particularly since the so-called Flood of the Century in 1997, will keep them safe, he said.

Lower flood levels forecast

Manitoba's flood forecaster, Alf Warkentin, also delivered good news Monday afternoon for people in the Red River Valley south of Winnipeg, saying the crest shouldbe about a half-foot lower between Emerson and the Winnipeg floodway than what predictionslast week had suggested.

However, the water is still high and is already causing trouble. The bridge on provincial road 246 near St. Jean Baptiste was closedMonday, while travel on provincial road 200 by St. Adolphe could be restricted by mid-week.

Detour maps for southern Manitoba can be found online at the Manitoba government website,manitoba.ca, on the CBC link at the top right of the page.