The controversy over plans to redesign the dangerous Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5 intersection near Carberry shows no signs of easing.
Ray Muirhead, mayor of Carberry, stands firmly against the province’s preferred Reduced Conflict U-Turn (RCUT) design, echoing growing public frustration with the proposal following a public meeting held June 25.
The province has earmarked $12 million for improvements following a tragic 2023 crash that claimed 17 lives, but Muirhead and many residents remain unconvinced the RCUT is the right solution.
Town council takes a clear position
The RCUT design requires drivers turning left from Highway 5 onto Highway 1 to first turn right and travel approximately 900 metres downstream to complete a U-turn. This design allows drivers on Highway 1 to better see vehicles entering traffic and react accordingly.
Muirhead notes the town council unanimously opposed the RCUT long before the public meeting.
“We wanted the overpass," he commented. “We as the town council before the public meeting, we got our heads together and we talked about this and we wanted to take a position as a unified front.”
Safety concerns at the intersection
The RCUT design, explained by provincial officials as reducing “conflict points,” requires drivers to turn right before making a U-turn to complete left turns.
Muirhead says the concept hasn’t been widely adopted across Canada.
“If RCUTs are so safe, why are there not more of them across Canada?” he asks. "We have a lot of non-local people that go through there and it's going to be confusing."
Muirhead highlights the busy and complex nature of the intersection.
“Come out at harvest time, come out at seeding time. You’ve got big potato trucks; you’ve got farm machinery crossing that intersection,” he says.
He adds, “I’ve seen potato trucks upset out there. Big loads of potatoes right at the intersection causing traffic to stop; they just need to make it easier. They need uninterrupted flow of traffic.”
The RCUT plan has faced strong public pushback from farmers, truckers, residents, and local leaders who favor an overpass or at least a widened median.
Residents collected over 2,100 petition signatures opposing the RCUT, and community members voiced concerns about emergency response times and highway safety.
What happens next?
Muirhead says the province’s consulting engineers will send recommendations to government officials.
He says, “We as the town will lobby the province and I will assume that residents will take up and they’ll lobby as well.”
He remains hopeful that after decades of waiting, the province will choose a long-term solution that truly addresses the community’s concerns.
“Governments come and governments go, and people change. I don’t want another 36 years to go by and not see the right thing done,” Muirhead reflects.
The provincial government has not made a final decision and is reviewing all community feedback before moving forward.
The debate continues over how best to make this crucial rural intersection safe for all users.