Manitoba premier says an overpass is back on the table for site of intersection crash

An overpass is back on the table as an option to improve safety at the site of a deadly bus crash in Manitoba. Jeff Keele explains.

WINNIPEG — An overpass is back in consideration for safety upgrades at a Manitoba intersection where a bus crash killed 17 people.

Premier Wab Kinew says the province will take time to examine all options and show that residents near the intersection of highways 1 and 5 are being heard.

A bus collided with a semi-trailer in June 2023 at the intersection, which currently allows drivers on Highway 5 to cross Highway 1 after a stop sign, followed by a yield sign in the median.

Residents have called for an overpass, but the Transportation Department said there was not enough traffic to warrant such a change.

The department instead recommended a system known as an RCUT, which forbids drivers on the smaller road from turning left or going straight across the major highway.

Kinew announced earlier this week the NDP government was withdrawing the proposal because of opposition from people in the area, which included a petition with 2,100 signatures.

On Thursday, Kinew said the province is back to looking at all options, including an overpass that would separate traffic.

“We want to look at safety but also something that has the public confidence in that safety,” Kinew told reporters.

“We’re going to take the time to get it right. And while we may have had one design that was ready to go, we’re now going to put in more effort on an alternative design ... to show rural Manitoba that we’re listening to you.”

A number of options were initially put forward for the intersection, including a roundabout and a wider median.

The June 2023 crash occurred when a bus carrying 24 seniors from the Dauphin area, heading south on Highway 5, crossed into the path of an eastbound semi-trailer on the Trans-Canada Highway.

The truck had the right of way and the bus driver had a yield sign. The collision caused the bus to catch fire and end up in a ditch. Some of the 17 who died were thrown from the vehicle.

Two weeks ago, the Transportation Department, in conjunction with two firms hired to help weigh different options, said an RCUT would work best because it reduces the number of points where vehicles travelling in different directions can collide.

The design allows traffic on the main highway to flow freely, while people on the side road are prevented from crossing directly or turning left. Instead, they must turn right, merge with traffic, execute a U-turn and merge again.

That did not sit well with some area residents at a town hall on the issue. Many said the required U-turn would not be safe for large trucks and farm equipment.

RCUTS are common in the United States but rarer in Canada. Transportation officials have said data from an RCUT intersection near Saskatoon has shown positive results.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2025.

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press