Consultations on overhaul of Carberry bus crash intersection to begin in coming weeks, minister says

The Manitoba government says it will start consultations this month on how to make the site of the Carberry bus crash safer, as residents of the town urge the province to act one year after the fatal accident.

The first round of consultations on how to change the intersection of Highway 5 and the Trans-Canada Highway will begin at the end of June, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor told Radio-Canada on Friday.

The bus was travelling south from Dauphin to a casino near Carberry, about 160 kilometres west of Winnipeg, when it was hit by an eastbound semi-trailer truck on June 15. Seventeen people died.

In January, the province issued a 179-page report that included three proposals on how to make the site safer: Installing a roundabout, widening the median or a setup that would force drivers to make a U-turn instead of turning left.

Naylor said engineers have been working on functional designs since the report was published, and the project is still on track to be completed in 2026.

'Hoping they do something'

Carberry Mayor Ray Muirhead said a solution is way overdue.

"I'm just hoping they do something."

Traffic volumes have been increasing for decades, he said.

"Something more has to be done. They've done some stuff in the interim.… They've increased lightning, they've increased signage, rumble strips … [but] we need a long-term solution."

Muirhead said any of the proposed three solutions would be better than what's there now.

He said a lot of residents have also suggested an overpass, because they're safer and less confusing than a roundabout or the forced U-turn setup, but his personal preference is for the lanes to be widened.

The transportation minister said the pace the government is working at is "faster than normal" for this type of intersection change.

"I want to clarify: the intersection is considered safe. It does meet highway safety standards," Naylor said. "What we are looking at are ways to make it even safer."

Residents of the southwestern Manitoba town say they're still on edge whenever they cross the intersection.

The crash is "not easy to forget," said Ethel Wilson, who's lived in Carberry for 20 years. "Even with my girlfriend or whatever, she's very cautious, and sometimes, being too cautious can cause an accident."

"I think the median is too narrow," John McNeily said. "If you have the slightest problem with your door post not showing the oncoming traffic, you can scare yourself badly." 

"A bigger space in the middle would be good," Anne Cooper said.

Two more rounds of consultation will follow this month's, with the next one scheduled for the fall.

A monument honouring the victims will be unveiled in Dauphin on Saturday during a ceremony commemorating the one-year anniversary of the crash.

"It's been a year almost, but it's still fresh in people's minds," Muirhead said. "We've had lots of accidents, mishaps, near misses out of that intersection, so it's time something gets done in the long term."