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Residents continue to raise concerns over highway intersection

Aug 16, 2017 | 5:17 PM

 

 MEDICINE HAT, AB — Residents continue to voice their concerns over the intersection of Highway 41 and the Trans-Canada Highway and say something needs to be done.

A nine-year-old girl was killed in a horrific crash earlier this month.

Since then, residents and commuters have offered their suggestions on how to make the intersection safer.

In the crash earlier this month, three people were rushed to hospital. The twin girls have been released while the driver is still recovering.

The fatality brought up a lot of concerns about the intersection. Members of Cypress County even saying they’ve been pushing for safety improvements there for years.

Some say the intersection is hard to navigate because drivers heading along Highway 41 need to come to a complete stop before merging with traffic on the Trans-Canada. The posted speed limit is 110 km/h.

Some are saying the stop sign isn’t enough and suggest stop lights or a lower speed limit.

Chris Kelly lives in Burstall and makes regular trips to Medicine Hat. He said his problem with the intersection is the fact that the grass is too high.

“There’s people turning from a standstill onto traffic that’s going at a very high rate of speed,” he said. “And the grass is extremely long along the sides of the highway and I think it’s a factor in people being able to see how the traffic is coming each way.”

An operations manager with Alberta transportation agrees and said a work order has been issued for the area.

Cypress County issued a fire ban on July 28th. Transport crews haven’t been able to mow the ditches since then, afraid that if their equipment were to catch a rock or a tin can, it may start a grass fire.

Crews are constantly monitoring the highway, looking at the reflectors along the sides of the road. Once grass and hay interfere with those, crews know it needs to be cut.