Carberry Mayor Ray Muirhead is feeling a mix of relief and excitement as safety improvements move forward at the intersection of Highway 5 and the Trans-Canada Highway.
The province has unveiled a rendering of the planned upgrades at the intersection, where 17 people were killed in a bus crash in 2023.
“We’ve been able to see the design and some of the preliminary work happening out there. As a community, we’re happy to see this moving forward, and we can’t wait for construction to get started,” Muirhead said.
The design includes two roundabouts to connect drivers travelling to Carberry, the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5.
An overpass will also be built over the Trans-Canada Highway for drivers heading north and south on Highway 5.
Following the crash, Muirhead advocated for roundabouts to address what he said was a road layout “that hadn’t been working.”
Under the current design, drivers must stop twice when travelling straight through the intersection on Highway 5 or turning left onto the Trans-Canada Highway, increasing the risk of collisions.
“When you stop and start traffic, that’s when accidents happen,” Muirhead said of his discussions with engineers.
Muirhead also emphasized the need for roundabouts as traffic volumes in the area continue to increase.
“There’s a lot of truck traffic moving north, south, east and west, and we need to alleviate that. Traffic volumes have increased exponentially compared to what they used to be.”
While the 17 lives lost will forever remain in the hearts of the local community, Muirhead said the work could prevent future casualties.
“If it saves lives in the future, that will mean a lot to the Dauphin community and the families, knowing these improvements will help prevent future tragedies.”
Construction is expected to begin in fall 2027 and take two years to complete.
Premier Wab Kinew said the redesign will cost more than $100 million.
Once completed, the intersection redesign could influence how roads are designed across Canada, Muirhead said.
“There’s gonna be a lot of eyes on this intersection to see how this goes because I would imagine this is going to be a trend.”
