Red River Floodway - Expansion

Expansion

Since the 1997 Red River Flood resulted in water levels that took the existing floodway to the limits of its capacity, various levels of government commissioned engineering studies for a major increase in flood protection for the City of Winnipeg. Work began in late 2005 under a provincial collective bargaining agreement and has included modifications to rail and road crossings as well as transmission line spans, upgrades to inlet control structures and fire protection, increased elevation of existing dikes (including the Brunkild dike), and the widening of the entire floodway channel. The NDP government set aside a portion of the construction budget for aboriginal construction firms. Completion of the Red River Floodway Expansion is slated for late 2010 at a final cost of more than $665,000,000 CAD. When the expansion is completed, the capacity of the floodway will increase to 4,000 cubic metres (140,000 cubic feet) per second, the estimated level of a 1-in-700 year flood event. (Using the flow rates of Niagara Falls as a standard of comparison, this is more than double its average of 1,833 cubic metres and about a third over its maximum.) The expanded floodway will protect over 140,000 homes, over 8,000 businesses, and prevent more than $12 billion (CAD) in damages to the provincial economy in the event of a 1-in-700 year flood.