REGINA — A traffic engineering review on safety at the intersection of Highways 35 and 335 in Saskatchewan has been released.
The intersection is the location of the bus crash on April 6, 2018 that took 16 lives and injured 13 people when a semi-tractor trailer and coach bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team collided.
The driver of the semi-truck was eventually charged by the RCMP with multiple counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death, and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure commissioned the intersection review, which was undertaken by McElhanney Consulting Services Regina. It is standard practice to conduct an internal traffic engineering review following any fatal collision on the provincial highway system.
The intersection of Highway 35 and Highway 335 is located 30 kilometres north of Tisdale and 30 kilometres south of Nipawin, Sask.
The report made 13 recommendations to improve the overall safety of the intersection, including widening the shoulders of the intersections and putting mill rumble strips on the Highway 335 approaches.
The report also recommends removing the gravel roadway, realigning grain elevator access to Highway 335 and building a new roadside memorial and access road.
New signaling is also recommended, including installing railway signals and light standards on break-way bases if required, and painting a solid centreline on Highway 35 and Highway 336.
The report also suggests realigning overhead power lines and installing larger-sized Stop and Stop Ahead signs along with similar pavement messages. Finally, the report said trees on private property should be removed.
Improvements with a high benefit-cost will be given higher priority, as are those that can be implemented quickly. Improvements of a similar nature, such as signs, can be grouped together to create cost and time savings through concurrent completion.
The highest cost improvements would be to widen the shoulders at $200,000 per kilometre per side, realigning the grain elevator access at $250,000 and mill rumble strips on the Highway 35 approaches at $150,000.
The Government of Saskatchewan stated the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure will implement all 13 recommendations, though as the issue is before the courts it will not comment further on the matter.
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