The prospect of a 2009-level flood has R.M. of Morris Council taking pre-emptive measures as water on the Red River makes its way from North Dakota into Manitoba. 

Road 2E (aka Riverside Road) between the Rosenort Ring Dyke on Road 29N and the Ring Dyke surrounding Riverside will be raised by an average of 2 feet.

At a special meeting Monday, Council voted to build up two rural roads in the municipality in an effort maintain access to two communities. 

As a result, 4,200 linear feet of Road 2E (aka Riverside Road) between the Rosenort Ring Dyke on Road 29N and the Ring Dyke surrounding Riverside will be raised by an average of 2 feet. In 2009, Riverside and some surrounding rural properties, were evacuated because flood waters had cut off road access.

Secondly, Road 31N between PR 205 and Road 1W west of Rosenort, will be raised to the same height as the bridge deck over the Morris River. The road currently serves as a detour route for PR 422, a portion of which is closed due to new bridge construction. The hope is this extra height on Road 31N will allow the alternate route to stay open for a few more days should flood waters hit 2009 levels. 

"This is entirely in response to both the American (flood) forecast...that still requires us to be cautious, and the Manitoba forecast for 2009 flood levels," said Reeve Ralph Groening. "Even at 2011 levels, Council has decided to take pre-emptive measures. We are doing our very best to ensure that workers, business and residents can continue to move in and out with a minimum of difficulty."

Work on these last-minute projects will start Wednesday, April 3rd, and take about 10 days to complete. 

Meantime, the municipality is reminding those with ring dykes around their private property it is their responsibility to ensure the barriers can be closed in the event that flood waters begin to approach. A public notice posted on the R.M. of Morris web site indicates sandbags will not be available for ring dyke closures, and advises property owners to have a contractor lined up that will be able to close the dyke with suitable materials.

The municipality is however providing a small amount of sandbags for those property owners looking to ensure any culverts underneath private ring dykes are blocked to prevent flood waters from breaching. As in previous flood events, the municipality says there may be a charge for these sandbags.

Additionally, spring runoff continues to impact the municipality's rural road network. Several roads closed on Sunday remain shuttered to traffic as water from the west flows through the area en route to the Red River. 

The closures include:

- RD 30N closed between P.R. 422 and River Road south 

- RD 29N closed between P.R. 422 and River Road south 

- RD 2W closed between RD 31 and RD 30

- RD 33N closed between P.R. 205 and RD 1E

The municipality is urging caution in these areas.

Road 31N between PR 205 and Road 1W west of Rosenort, will be raised to the same height as the bridge deck over the Morris River.