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CBC
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
Carberry-area residents rally against plan they say won't fix intersection where crash killed 17
Around 100 people rallied Thursday evening near the intersection north of Carberry where a crash killed 17 people two years ago, protesting one of the proposals to make the crossing safer. Semi-trailer trucks and farm vehicles lined the road beside the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5, as protesters called on the province to scrap plans for a restricted crossing U-turn at the site. The protest was held at the intersection where on June 15, 2023, a semi and a bus full of seniors from the Dauphin area collided, killing 17 and injuring eight. A month later, three people were injured at the intersection when a pickup truck collided with an SUV, causing both to hit a third vehicle. Jordan Dickson, who lives beside the intersection, said she's seen a lot of accidents and close calls. "It's really scary sometimes," Dickson said. "We're always watching out there for when the [emergency] lights go by." She wants the intersection to be safer but worries community needs aren't being heard. Following a safety review, the province presented three main possibilities — a widened intersection, a roundabout or a restricted crossing U-turn, known as an RCUT. Thursday's rally was organized to send a message that an RCUT isn't the answer, Dickson said. An RCUT forces drivers to turn right, merge into traffic and then make a U-turn, instead of crossing or turning left. An RCUT doesn't make sense in an area with a lot of farm equipment and heavy truck traffic, Dickson said. "It's a recipe for disaster," she said. WATCH | How an R-CUT would work at the intersection near Carberry: How an RCUT would work at Manitoba intersection where deadly crash happened 1 year ago Duration 0:13 A restricted crossing U-turn, also known as an RCUT, is one of three options being explored to overhaul a highway intersection near Carberry, Man., where a crash killed 17 people and injured eight others in June. She says an overpass is the best way to make the intersection safer, and it's disappointing the province isn't pursuing that. If an overpass isn't possible, she would like a wider median, which was one of the options in the province's safety report. The current median is so narrow, even two-passenger vehicles can't comfortably fit. Traffic often gets back up at the intersection, because drivers wait until all four lanes on Highway 1 are clear to cross, Dickson says. "It's a very busy highway," Dickson said. "There's lots of times that when [farm] equipment's trying to get through, either they're forced to take the service road and go to the intersections either a mile east or mile west, or traffic gets pretty backed up as they are waiting to get through." Overpass needed: farmer Deborah Steen, who helped organize the rally, said spring and fall are particularly bad, and the intersection can become "complete chaos" when farming equipment crowds the intersection. "I come through this intersection multiple times a day, and it's just a nightmare at times," Steen said. She worries the RCUT will confuse drivers and push traffic onto less safe back roads. Steen also says if an overpass isn't possible, the next safest option is widening the median. Carberry-area farmer Neil Adriaansen says the intersection has been an issue for decades, and locals have been hoping for an overpass since the mid-1960s. He crosses the intersection four to eight times a day, and the size of his vehicles means he often doesn't fit in the median. If the province moves ahead with an RCUT, he'll start using back roads to avoid it, he said. "I am not taking a chance on a foggy morning, trying to merge across three lanes, and then have to turn around and do it again on the other side. That's bizarre," Adriaansen said. "I'm sure there are places for RCUTS. This just isn't it." After the last public open house about the intersection's future, Adriaansen submitted a four-page letter to the province explaining why he didn't want to see an RCUT built. It's unsafe and inconvenient, penalizing traffic travelling north-south, he said. If an overpass isn't possible, he also would support a wider median, or stoplights. Dickson said the consultation process with the province has been frustrating, with many in the community feeling ignored. A petition against the RCUT has started and is gathering local opinions about safer options, along with signatures, Dickson said. Their goal is to amplify the voices of those who use the intersection every day, she said. "We obviously want a safe intersection. We've been asking for it for years now," Dickson said. A final round of engagement will take place this spring and an engagement report is expected from the province this summer regarding the future of the intersection.
Winnipeg Free Press
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Winnipeg Free Press
Demonstrators demand overpass at dangerous Carberry intersection
CARBERRY — More than 150 people stood near the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5 to denounce the preferred option for a redesign of the intersection in response to a collision two years ago that killed 17 people. They carried signs that read 'safety not shortcuts,' and 'how many more accidents before they listen.' The group opposes a U-turn option, which is called an RCUT. Jordan Dickson, 31, one of the organizers, said the RCUT model isn't safe for the farmers and truckers who live in the area. More than 150 people gathered to protest proposed changes for the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5, where 17 people died in a crash in June 2023. 'There's hundreds, if not thousands of trucks … plus all the other everyday passenger traffic coming through here,' she said. The RCUT model, or restricted crossing U-turn, doesn't exist in Manitoba but is commonly found in the United States. The Carberry RCUT would include U-turns both east and west of the current intersection. At an open house in late March, a consultant hired by the provincial government said three design options were under consideration, but his presentation focused on the RCUT design because, he said, it is unfamiliar to Manitobans. Dickson, who lives 30 seconds away from the intersection, said the McCain potato plant southeast of Carberry is the source of a lot of traffic throughout the year, and big vehicles would have a hard time matching the speed on the Trans-Canada before slowing down for a U-turn. 'For all those vehicles to have to merge onto the (Trans-Canada), merge over three lanes, do a U-turn, merge back over — it's a recipe for a disaster,' said Dickson, standing near crosses that have been erected to honour the 17 victims of the June 2023 crash. They died after their minibus crossed into the eastbound lanes of Highway 1 and was hit by a semi-trailer. Attendees at the rally said they want an overpass — a much more expensive option — to be built. The province has said it isn't feasible, but Dickson said cost shouldn't matter. 'How many more lives have to be lost before the province finally realizes that the cost is worth it?' she said. Kirsten Duguay said her daughter is supposed to start working at the hospital in Neepawa soon and will have to cross the intersection to get to work. She said she's worried about her safety if an RCUT is implemented. 'It makes me nervous that she has to navigate that intersection, possibly after a 12-hour shift where she's tired,' said the 55-year-old Duguay, who is a nurse in Carberry. A truck driver who said he uses the intersection at least three times a day said he's worried about the RCUT intersection. 'I can tell you right now, your accident rate is going to skyrocket,' said 50-year-old Byron Vanrooyen. 'A truck can't pick up speed fast enough, and the guys with the cars come down here driving at 110, 120 (km/h) — you can't push a truck in there faster.' Vanrooyen said some tractors can't go faster than 30 km/h when pulling equipment, and they'll be in the way of other traffic. TIM SMITH / THE BRANDON SUN Protesters carried signs that read 'safety not shortcuts,' and 'how many more accidents before they listen.' The group opposes a U-turn option, called an RCUT. 'You're going to create more problems, with people having more accidents and more deaths,' he said. Rally-goers, equipped with a megaphone, said the province surveyed traffic volumes in July, which is among the least busy times of the year. They said the survey should have been conducted in the busy spring or fall seasons. 'The consultants aren't listening. They roll their eyes, they brush us off,' Dickson told the crowd via the megaphone. Carberry Mayor Ray Muirhead, who wasn't at the rally, said he's 'still on the fence' about which route the province should select. He said because the province said it won't build an overpass, he prefers the RCUT, as the design is safer than other interchanges. But he also acknowledged that farming equipment, which travels a lot slower than the 100 km/h speed limit, could pose a danger on the busy Trans-Canada. Muirhead said the province should put the overpass option back on the table, and said the NDP government saying it's too expensive is a way of 'passing the buck off to another government.' Weekday Mornings A quick glance at the news for the upcoming day. He said the rally will draw attention to the issue but he doesn't think it will affect the government's decision. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor, in a statement Thursday, didn't provide an update on which design is favoured. 'The province has conducted extensive community consultations, and no final decision has been made,' said a spokesperson from Naylor's office. 'Work continues on the functional design process and the project remains on schedule.' Construction is set to begin in early 2026, and should be open to traffic in the fall of 2026. — Brandon Sun
Global News
22-05-2025
- General
- Global News
‘It doesn't fit': Carberry residents oppose RCUT solution at deadly intersection
A group of Carberry residents say they are opposing planned safety measures at a deadly intersection, arguing provincial consultants didn't listen to what the community wanted at the site. The intersection of Highways 1 and 5 was the site of the deadliest crash in Manitoba's history in June 2023, when a mini-bus full of Dauphin-area seniors was hit by a semi. Seventeen people died as a result of the accident. Over the next year, three potential options were floated: a roundabout, an RCUT (restricted crossing U-turn) intersection, and median widening. Despite feedback from some community members and Carberry's mayor and council calling for an overpass, the residents say that option appears to have been nixed by the province earlier this year. In an open letter about Thursday's protest, the Carberry residents laid out a series of reasons for opposing the safety consultants' preferred choice of an RCUT solution. Story continues below advertisement 1:04 'It's a no-brainer': Officials in Carberry, Man., call for overpass at deadly intersection The residents listed issues such as access for farm equipment, emergency vehicles and school buses, among their reasons, for opposing the plan. They also noted that previous consultations didn't take into account the increase in traffic through the rural Manitoba community during the annual harvest season. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'We want to obviously make clear that we're not opposed to making the intersection safer, that is … the goal,' area resident Jordan Dickson told Global Winnipeg. 'It's just that these consultations, it's been very obvious the RCUT … has been pushed, and the consultants are very much dismissive of any opinions or concerns that have been brought up by the local community, especially the local farming community. 'It doesn't fit for this area.' Dickson, who lives just south of the intersection, said there have been multiple crashes before and after the 2023 incident, and she's frustrated it took such a serious tragedy to spur the province toward making a change. Story continues below advertisement 'It's in my backyard. That's a big reason why I've been so passionate about this,' she said. 'We need a safer option there. I go through it every single day, multiple times a day, as do many of our community members, family, friends.' 2:07 Reaction to Highway 1 intersection upgrade options near Carberry Resident Kim Reynolds said a planned rally for Thursday night is expected to draw around 100 people, including representatives of the local farming community. 'We have a lot of the local trucking firms and farmers bringing some of their implements and some examples of what crosses this intersection daily,' Reynolds said. 'With one of the largest potato processing plants just south of that intersection and one of the largest pork processing plants north, (there are) lots of double-wide semis — which is what kind of makes that intersection dangerous to start with, because it's not wide enough. Story continues below advertisement 'When the consultation was done, they had someone sit there and count vehicles, but it was July, so that's not a very accurate representation of our intersection. I would challenge them to sit there in September or May and see how busy that intersection is.' In a statement Thursday, the province said a final decision is yet to be made on the intersection. 'Work continues on the functional design process, and the project remains on schedule with construction set to begin in early 2026, with opening to traffic expected in fall 2026.'
