Carberry overpass expected to use roundabouts

The Carberry overpass is expected to use two roundabouts that can accommodate farm equipment, according to structural design plans that the municipality posted online this week.

The Town of Carberry on Thursday released information from the provincial government’s overpass design, showing a roundabout on both the north and south exits of the overpass, connecting it to Highway 5 and ramps to exit and enter the Trans-Canada Highway.

Mayor Ray Muirhead told the Sun on Friday that he is happy with the design.

“I like it, I think it’s what we want,” Muirhead said. “The only thing I can see anybody saying anything about is the roundabouts. But I don’t think they’re that bad. I think it’s going to accommodate what we want.”

According to the plans, the roundabouts are being designed to accommodate large vehicles, including farm equipment and heavy trucks, similar to the roundabout configuration at the Trans-Canada Highway interchange near Portage La Prairie.

Muirhead said just one resident had spoken to him about the designs so far, and raised concerns with the roundabouts.

“My take on that is, you know, it’s one of those ‘getting used to’ things. I think once you get used to it, it’s a fairly simple deal,” Muirhead said.

“I think it’s going to accommodate everybody, like the trucking, the farming industry, the whole bit.”

Construction on the overpass is expected to start in the fall of 2027 and be completed in the summer of 2030.

The plan to build an overpass at the intersection of Highway 5 and the Trans-Canada Highway was announced in 2025 by Premier Wab Kinew. It was a response to a fatal collision at the intersection in 2023 that killed 17 seniors.

The decision came after pressure from the community to abandon a tentative plan to construct a restricted crossing U-turn, or RCUT, at the intersection.

The overpass was announced in November’s throne speech and pegged at $100 million to construct.

Along with roundabouts, the overpass is expected to have a minimum of 5.4 metres of vertical clearance over the Trans-Canada Highway. It is also being planned to have a 12.4-metre clear roadway width carrying two lanes and widened shoulders.

Muirhead said Carberry chose this design from two options.

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.

“The first one was going to involve expropriating a bunch of neighbourly lands out there, so we didn’t think that that would go over very well,” he said. “This one is a safer option and it’s $30 million cheaper, so we chose that.”

The Town of Carberry plans to relocate a roadside memorial that stands near the intersection memorializing victims of the fatal crash. Muirhead said the town has obtained permission through the City of Dauphin to move the roadside memorial crosses into the Day Lily Park in Carberry. The crosses will be added to an existing memorial in that park, he said.

“I think we’re going to put the crosses either all together or one at each tree, just … to keep that alive and well.”

The city pans to relocate the memorial ahead of construction to ensure it is not impacted, he said. They may do this in the fall, or in the spring of 2027.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com