WINNIPEG – As sure as taxes (and just about the same time as) floods seem to close southern Manitoba’s main artery to the U.S. in April, disrupting thousands of cross-border truckers.

Flooding of Hwy. 75 is happening again this week. And just like every year, the provincial government recommends a very specific 100-klick detour from Hwy 3 to Winkler, then east on Highway 14.

The Manitoba Trucking Association (MTA) says enough’s enough and it’s high time the government found a permanent solution to the mess.

“With over 1,100 trucks per day traveling both ways on Highway 75, it’s imperative now more than ever that we have a permanent solution to the yearly flooding question," says MTA executive director Bob Dolyniuk.

“Commerce in Manitoba depends on it, as do our members. The detour facing drivers each year adds fuel costs, labor costs and other unnecessary burdens.”

The suggested detour to the border adds about 100 km to any southern route.

In 2009, the highway closed for 35 days and added $1.5 million a week to the cost of trucking goods between Canada and United States. Dolyniuk expects the costs of the closure to be equal to, if not higher to that year.

The closure of Highway 75 increases the headache facing truckers, who have already had to deal with overland flooding causing traffic bottlenecks and detours at various points along I-29 in and around the Fargo area.

The detours come at a time when truck drivers and transport companies are already contending with increased fuel prices.

And of course truckers aren’t the only ones affected by closure: truck stops and businesses along the highway get hurt, too.

This year, the rising Red River has already washed out hundreds of roads and forced 20 communities to declare local states of emergency

The town of Morris, in particular, is expected to take a big hit. The Red is expected to crest there around April 22 and in Winnipeg during the first week of May.

"Watching the situation, there will be more road closures," Manitoba’s Emergency Measures Minister Steve Ashton said during a flood update Monday afternoon.