The mayor of a Manitoba community says he is happy with the proposed designs for an overpass and a pair of roundabouts for an intersection where a deadly bus crash took place three years ago. The province released the designs last week for the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5 near Carberry. “This option put up now seems to be the best option,” Carberry Mayor Ray Muirhead said during an interview Monday. “It’s a lot less money, it’s a lot safer option, and I think it will be good all-around.” Improvements for the intersection have been discussed for several years but have intensified in the wake of the crash on June 15, 2023, involving a semi-truck and a bus. The crash killed 17 seniors on a bus heading from the Dauphin area to a nearby casino. The design includes two roundabouts on the north and south sides of the intersection, along with an overpass, which Muirhead said the community has been wanting for years. “The intersection, as it stands right now, has been a danger for not just years, for decades,” he said. “With the volume of traffic and the kinds of traffic out there — semis with double trailers, larger farm vehicles — every day is an accident waiting to happen out there.” Muirhead said preliminary work has started in the area. The province anticipates construction will begin in the fall of 2027 and will be completed in three years.
