Arlington Bridge (CITY OF WINNIPEG / YOUTUBE)
Crews began removing the first piece of Winnipeg’s historic Arlington Bridge Thursday, marking the start of the century-old structure‘s demolition.
The removal follows more than a month of preparatory work on the city right-of-way and comes after the bridge was permanently closed in November 2023, when a study found it was in poor condition and could not be repaired or rebuilt on its existing foundation.
“Removing the old Arlington Bridge is the first step toward restoring connections between people, neighbourhoods and jobs,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham, in a release.
“It’s also part of a broader strategy to renew Winnipeg’s network of more than 120 bridges.”
The decommissioning and removal will happen in two stages. The first stage, which began in early June, is expected to take about six months and focuses on removing the bridge’s south portion, from Logan Avenue to midway into the CPKC rail yard.
No full road closures are expected during this phase, though traffic near Logan Avenue and Arlington Street will be intermittently affected. Work will continue north at Dufferin Avenue in 2027.
The bridge’s decommissioning comes with a $17 million price tag, which city council approved in January 2025, along with an additional $5 million to begin design work on a new bridge. The replacement will be built in approximately the same footprint.
