Bus accident in Manitoba highlights the safety of at-grade intersections in Canada
The fatal accident in Manitoba between a busload of senior citizens and a semi-auto has once again drawn attention to the safety of numerous so-called at-grade intersections on Canadian highways.
Dave Earle, CEO of the BC Trucking Association, says most drivers in urban areas where highway intersections have overpasses or traffic lights have no idea of the prevalence of grade-level intersections, where two routes intersect at the same elevation, and that they drive even without lights . major thoroughfares such as the Trans-Canada Highway.
Earle says that while it’s not always possible, easy, or economically viable to build completely grade-separated interchanges, it would be much safer for all drivers.
Police say 15 people were killed and 10 others injured in the crash west of Winnipeg at the Trans-Canada Highway’s intersection with Highway 5.
The Trans-Canada Highway is almost entirely a four-lane route in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, but many of the intersections outside the cities are at grade and controlled with stop signs and give way signs.
Earle says there are also sections of other major four-lane highways, such as Alberta’s Highway 2 south of Calgary, that have intersections at the same level as crossroads traffic.
He says that while the trucking association would like to see more segregated interchanges built across Canada, he understands that many such projects are not economically or physically viable, depending on location.
“Wherever possible, we advocate for grade segregation,” says Earle. “This also applies to level crossings, this also applies to major highway intersections. But the vast majority of intersections across the continent are at-grade.”
He says a section of the Trans-Canada Highway through the Fraser Valley still has an at-grade intersection with a Canadian Pacific rail line after 2021 atmospheric river flooding removed the original grade-separation.
“Sometimes it’s very hard physically to do[a grade separation]even if you have the will and the money,” he says. “As much as we all want an uninterrupted and safe commute, there is always a risk… and when mistakes happen, the consequences can be dire.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 15, 2023.
