Crash renews calls for change

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This article was published 02/08/2023 (778 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A petition calling for greater safety at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5 has gained hundreds of signatures after the second major motor vehicle accident at the location in less than two months.

On Monday afternoon, RCMP responded to a three-vehicle collision at the intersection just north of Carberry in the Municipality of North Cypress-Langford.

A southbound truck entered the intersection and was struck by an eastbound SUV, and then both vehicles were carried into a third vehicle waiting at a nearby stop sign.

Three people were taken to hospital with serious injuries. Manitoba RCMP told the Sun on Tuesday by email that the “that the injuries sustained are not anticipated to lead to any fatalities.”

On June 15, 15 seniors from Dauphin died after a similar collision at the same intersection, with two more people later dying in hospital.

After the first collision, the Town of Carberry and the Municipality of North Cypress-Langford set up an online petition calling for the province to “make immediate and long-term improvements to the major intersection in our community.”

According to Carberry Mayor Ray Muirhead, that petition had 1,975 signatures on Monday. As of late Tuesday afternoon, that total had been raised to more than 2,554.

Creating the petition was an idea by a resident that Muirhead said thought could help get the provincial government’s attention.

“Something needs to be done,” Muirhead said. “I mean, this has been going on for decades … We’re working in conjunction with North Cypress-Langford because it happened in there, but it’s basically on our doorstep.”

According to Muirhead, the municipalities met with three representatives from Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure last week to kickstart the process of changing the intersection.

The mayor admitted he’s not a road safety expert, but he would like to be able to demonstrate that progress is being made by installing a traffic light, reducing the speed limit or something else.

The crux of the problem, Muirhead said, is the lack of room between the west and eastbound lanes of the Trans-Canada for motorists travelling north or south on Highway 5.

Shortly after the initial crash, Muirhead said he was on his way to Clear Lake with his wife when they saw a semi-truck with a double trailer at the intersection with its front end in the eastbound lane and its trailers in the turning lane on the westbound side.

The truck had to stop before completing the manoeuvre because the driver didn’t think they could make it through, but it required other eastbound traffic to stop to avoid hitting it.

That kind of event happens every day at that intersection, the mayor said.

“We realize … there are thousands and thousands of intersections across Manitoba like this, but unfortunately, we’re the one with the worst reputation,” he said. “It’s hard on our emergency people, our fire department. We’re very glad we have who we have and we’re very thankful and proud of them. But I mean, this has to play on them pretty hard.”

The pattern of fatal collisions along the stretch between Winnipeg and Brandon is something that hits close to home for Winnipeg resident Justin van Damme, whose grandparents were killed in a collision with a semi-truck in 1999 at an intersection about one kilometre east from the Highway 5 intersection.

The couple crossed the westbound lanes of the Trans-Canada but were stuck by a semi-truck as they drove across the eastbound lanes.

Van Damme has family in Brandon and has driven the route between the two cities many times himself.

For van Damme, adding an overpass at the intersection would not address the issue of speed, which he said is a major safety issue, though he does recognize that people on the highway do need to travel efficiently.

Van Damme would like to see a lower speed limit near the intersection at Highway 5 and said that adding a traffic light would help reduce human error and give people travelling across the highway a safe intersection to do so.

“I think we need to acknowledge that this is an intersection that is seeing a pretty deadly trend,” he told the Sun in an interview. “We need to look out for people there — we need to look out for people by designing safer highways.”

The Sun was unable to reach RM of North Cypress-Langford Reeve Ray Drayson for comment on Tuesday, but received a joint statement on behalf of both the RM and Carberry advocating for safety improvements at the intersection.

“Over the years, there have been many serious collisions, including several fatalities,” the statement reads. “With the increase of traffic with tourism, industrial, agricultural, and overall growth in our region, this intersection has become increasingly busy. At any time, vehicles are using this intersection from more than one direction. You do not need to be at this intersection very long to see the confusion and danger caused by the current design.

“With the most recent tragic accident, for which we offer our deepest condolences to the loved ones of those lost and our thoughts are with those still in hospital, we are calling on the Province of Manitoba and the Minister of Transportation & Infrastructure to make immediate temporary safety improvements to this intersection. We are also asking that a thorough review be done, with a long-term plan implemented to ensure that something like this does not happen again.”

Premier Heather Stefanson told the Winnipeg Free Press on Tuesday that she wished those involved in the crash well during their health-care journey.

Reached by phone, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk told the Sun the province wants to make sure safety is the No. 1 priority on the highway.

“When we have two mishaps at the same intersection, that’s very concerning,” Piwniuk said. “I travel the Trans-Canada Highway on a regular basis … I’ve seen it getting busier all the time. Something that we have to add to the transportation infrastructure is looking at the amount of traffic diversity on our Trans-Canada Highway and what we can do to make sure that for future, we’re creating safety for drivers that go through our province.”

He said consultations with the local municipalities will be included in an ongoing safety strategy and review being carried out by his department since the June incident.

In an email, a spokesperson for Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure said the department was “deeply concerned about another accident at that same intersection.”

“The In-Service Road Safety Review is intended to identify options for interim and longer-term safety improvements for this intersection and will also address safety improvements to the network as a whole,” the email read.

“Interim safety improvements will be implemented immediately following the In-Service Road Safety Review while longer-term safety improvements will be carefully considered for implementation. MTI is also waiting for the RCMP to complete their investigation into the June 2023 crash, which may provide additional information for further consideration.”

The email added that several enhancements to the intersection are “already moving forward,” including installing advance warning signs, refreshing and improving pavement markings, refreshing rumble strips near the intersection and replacing signage as needed.

The markings and rumble strips are expected to be completed in the next couple of weeks while the safety review is estimated to be finished by late fall. Signage is expected to be updated “in the weeks to follow.”

The petition started by the municipalities can be found at https://rb.gy/3jb87

» cslark@brandonsun.com, with files from the Winnipeg Free Press and Geena Mortfield

» Twitter: @ColinSlark