Rework intersection near Carberry where busload of seniors was hit by semi, report says

Manitoba is overhauling a highway intersection where more than a dozen seniors on a bus trip to a casino were killed in a crash in June, in response to safety concerns identified after the deadly collision.

The province will do that through one of three options — a roundabout, a wider median or a setup that forces drivers to make a U-turn instead of turning left — identified in a new report released Monday on the safety of the intersection of Highway 5 and the Trans-Canada Highway near the southwestern town of Carberry, Man.

The report was commissioned following a collision there on June 15 between a semi-trailer truck and a bus full of seniors on a day trip to a casino. The crash killed 17 people and injured eight others.

Another crash at the same intersection the following month injured three people when a pickup truck collided with a sport utility vehicle, causing both to collide with a third vehicle.

While the 179-page report was done as a result of the bus crash, it does not examine the details of that collision, because RCMP are still investigating it.

The report contains dozens of recommendations for the intersection, ranging from small ones like improving signage around it to bigger ones like reconfiguring it entirely. That suggestion comes in response to road safety issues identified related to the median — particularly how narrow it is.

“We are going to do the safest thing when it comes to the future of this intersection,” Premier Wab Kinew said at a Monday news conference in Dauphin, Man., where family of those involved in the crash were present.

“We cannot make things right or make you whole — but we are going to work our hardest to ensure that something like this does not happen again.”

Overhaul expected in 2026

Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor said the province has earmarked $12 million to upgrade the intersection.

Naylor said the government plans to put out a request for proposals for functional design plans in the coming weeks before it decides whether to install a roundabout, widen the median or create what’s known as a restricted crossing U-turn (or RCUT) at the intersection, which would eliminate left-turn and Highway 5 through options and instead force drivers to make a U-turn to get where they’re going.

She expects it will take about six to nine months to complete initial designs — and to decide which of the three options the province will go ahead with. All three choices would be anticipated to serve the community for “at least the next 20 to 25 years,” Naylor said.

The project is expected to be complete by the fall of 2026.

The process will also include community consultations, so the decision isn’t made “behind closed doors” by government officials, Kinew said.

“That’s why we want to hear from the ag industry, the trucking industry, folks in Carberry, people affected here in Dauphin, highway users from across the province,” he said.

The report also includes a long-term suggestion to introduce a grade-separated interchange (incorporating an overpass or underpass) — something Naylor said the province isn’t exploring yet, because the intersection isn’t busy enough to warrant it.

“It wouldn’t be the ideal solution at this point, and it doesn’t fit the traffic volume,” she said in an interview with CBC News, adding the intersection sees about 5,000 vehicles a day, compared to the Perimeter Highway’s 30,000 at any of its cross streets.

But Kinew said “there will be an interchange at this location in the future.”

“The engineers tell us that that’s probably in the 20- to 25-year timeline, in terms of when that makes sense,” he said.

‘High-severity collision types’

Collision data from roughly 10 years preceding the collision shows there were 29 other crashes at the intersection in that time, with almost half involving injury or death — something the report says suggests “high-severity collision types are an issue at this location.”

Right-angle crashes were the most common type, with common factors including failing to yield or leaving a stop sign before it’s safe, which the report says suggests drivers on Highway 5 have a hard time assessing when it’s safe to cross or turn onto the Trans-Canada Highway.

The report also identifies a number of safety issues at the intersection, ranging from inconsistencies in signage to faded highway paint to lanes and shoulders slightly below current standards for width.

Naylor said some of the issues at the intersection were addressed by minor changes made after the crash, including repainting markings on the highway, refurbishing rumble strips in the area and installing a bright yellow sign to draw drivers’ attention to the intersection as they approach it.

Looking ahead, she said the province is in the process of forming a safety unit to review Manitoba’s entire highway network, as part of a plan to introduce what’s known as a safe systems approach to highway planning.

“This approach aims to create a more forgiving road system, meaning that the system accepts that people make mistakes and are vulnerable — so road systems are created to prevent tragedies,” she said.

Naylor said the province will also financially support a memorial for those who died in the crash, which is being planned by community members.

Intersection options can improve safety: report

Research shows the options the province is considering have been demonstrated to make intersections safer, the report says.

When it comes to intersections on rural expressways like the one being examined, wider medians tend to make them safer, because it gives drivers more room to stop there before deciding when it’s safe to cross the intersection, the report says.

A road safety analysis cited in the report suggests adding a roundabout reduces crashes by 44 per cent — and leads to a drop of 82 per cent in collisions involving deaths or injuries.

However, installing a roundabout in a high-speed rural environment as isolated as the intersection in question “can raise concern regarding driver expectation” — meaning careful consideration of other speed management measures would be needed for this option.

Another study cited in the report suggests restricted crossing U-turn intersections reduce crashes by 34.8 per cent and lead to a drop in collisions involving death or injury of 53.7 per cent.

But because of the high volume of trucks on both highways, the report says this option would also need careful consideration.

Naylor said that option would be new to Manitoba, but has already been used in other regions — including Saskatchewan, which just installed one near Saskatoon.

While the report says the Town of Carberry previously said it wanted traffic signals installed at the intersection, an analysis done by Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure found that isn’t warranted right now.

Traffic signals can be helpful when they’re used properly, but research shows isolated lights on high-speed highways can actually result in an increase in crashes and a jump in how serious those collisions are, the report says.

It says it also looked at reducing the posted speed limit, but didn’t recommend that option either — in part because drivers on a high-speed highway like the Trans-Canada aren’t expecting to suddenly have to hit the brakes, which could create safety issues.