RCUT design focus of open house

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This article was published 26/03/2025 (281 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CARBERRY — The focus of an open house on the Carberry intersection Monday evening was a new intersection design that has never been used in Manitoba.

Donovan Toews, a planner with Landmark Planning who led a presentation for a crowd of more than 60 people, said three options for the intersection are still under review. However, Toews’ presentation at Carberry Collegiate focused on the RCUT design, or reduced conflict U-turn, because he said it is unfamiliar to Manitobans.

The design is a widely used concept in the U.S. that directs drivers to turn onto a main road and make a U-turn at a one-way median. Planners at the meeting pointed to a case example of an RCUT intersection near Saskatoon, which has produced good feedback, they said.

The open house was a chance to receive feedback from residents before recommending a design to the province.

“After today we’ll be in a (good) position to recommend a preferred alternative,” said Toews. He clarified the final decision will be up to the province.

The intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5 was the site of a fatal collision in June 2023.

Seventeen people were killed as a result, leading to questions about the safety of the intersection.

The three shortlisted design options are a widened median intersection, a split intersection and the RCUT.

Carberry CAO Grady Stephenson, a first responder who was also on the scene of the crash in 2023, told the Sun on Monday that he does not have a favourite design yet. Stephenson said the presentation on the RCUT design seemed generally positive.

A key benefit was safety, as the design is projected to stop collisions of the worst nature.

“From what they are showing us, it is reducing the number of severe impacts,” said Stephenson. “Statistically, it’s showing up as the best option.”

Stephenson added he is grateful that something is being done — and he’s sure whatever option is chosen, it will be an improvement over the existing intersection.

A large concern that Toews said he has heard loud and clear from residents is that design plans for the intersection would close two access points to the Trans-Canada Highway — roughly a mile east and a mile west. That plan is now under review, Toews said..

Agreeing with that concern, Stephenson said he has heard many complaints about that plan, and that if closed, farmers would have to pull their equipment through the new intersection to go north-south.

The presentation led by Landmark Planning showed multiple considerations that will go into deciding between the three designs. Safety was a top consideration, with the RCUT design faring well in its ability to reduce the number of severe collisions.

The meeting collected more feedback and questions from residents as phase “2B” of the intersection improvement process. The process is set to conclude this summer, when the recommended intersection choice will be sent to the province.

When asked why Manitoba had never used the RCUT design before, Toews told the crowd that there was not a specific reason.

“I couldn’t explain why, but it’s not because someone said, ‘Those RCUTS are terrible, let’s not use them.’”

He said that the design upgrades are a product of time — just as roundabouts were never used before, now many people support the concept and ask for more.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com