Province reveals new design for Carberry junction

Bus crash at Trans-Canada and Highway 5 killed 17 seniors in 2023

Renderings of the proposed intersection changes include two roundabouts along a bypass for Highway 5 over the Trans-Canada.

The province has released a proposed design for an intersection near Carberry where a crash killed 17 seniors in 2023.

The project proposes an overpass and two roundabouts at the intersection of Highway 5 and the Trans-Canada Highway. Details and renderings of the design were released on the province’s website.

The overpass was announced in November’s three-month speech and pegged at $100 million to construct. The province initially floated the idea of a restricted crossing U-turn, or RCUT, but the design was met with intense scrutiny from the public.

Residents said at the time the RCUT would be confusing for drivers and difficult to navigate.

The proposed interchange design provides a safer and more efficient route while reducing land acquisition requirements, minimizing impacts on surrounding properties and potentially lowering costs, the document outlining the project says.

The roundabouts would be designed to accommodate large trucks and farm equipment, similar to the configuration along the Trans-Canada Highway interchange near Portage la Prairie.

The Carberry-area intersection has been a focal point of safety concerns since June 2023, when a bus en route to the Sand Hills Casino, south of Carberry, was hit by a semi-truck.

Carberry Mayor Ray Muirhead called the design the safest option.

“I think it’s what we need for safety, and one people get used to it, it’ll be just second nature,” Muirhead said Friday.

The mayor said after scrapping the RCUT design, the province presented stakeholders, including Carberry’s council, two options involving an overpass.

The first would have involved land expropriation, service roads and cost $100 million, whereas the chosen design involved no land expropriation and cost $70 million.

“So we went with that and saved $30 million,” he said, noting the option also felt safer. “There will probably be some naysayers but it’s just one of those things.”

Muirhead said he is awaiting feedback on the design.

April’s provincial budget included about $4 million for design work and land acquisition for the project, which is expected to be completed in 2030. Construction is expected to begin late next year.