Temporary closures for deadly Saskatchewan intersection - Action News
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Saskatoon

Temporary closures for deadly Saskatchewan intersection

A temporary closure is coming to the deadly intersection of Highway 11 and Wanuskewin Road just north of Saskatoon. The province and Corman Park agreed to close access to Highway 11 from Range Road 3052.

The Ministry of Highways and RM of Corman Park agreed on a temporary closure of Range Road 3052

The aftermath of a collision at Highway 11 and Wanuskewin Road just north of Saskatoon in October 2012. (Dan Zakreski/CBC)

A deadly intersection just north of Saskatoon will undergo temporary changes this summer.

The provincial Ministry of Highways and the Rural Municipality of Corman Park agreed at a meeting on Monday that something needs to be done to improve safety at the deadly intersection just north of Saskatoon.

The ministry proposed closing one access point to the busy intersection, reducing the amount of cross-traffic coming in and out of the intersection. The ministry will set up a temporary closure at Range Road 3052 as it approaches Highway 11.

The temporary road closure, which blocks off access to the extension of Wanuskewin Road as it crosses Highway 11 will stop northbound drivers from making left turns into Corman Industrial Park. Southbound traffic on Highway 11 will still be able to make a left turn onto Wanuskewin Road to get into Saskatoon.

Adam Tittemore with the RM said this is a pilot safety measure being implemented for now, while a long-term safety strategy is developed.

"There will be notifications that will be directly provided to RM ratepayers who would be directly affected by this. For instance, those that live along that stretch of road where access would be changed," Tittemore said. "The RM has been working with the Ministry of Highways to try and come up with solutions to make that intersection safer. And this, we're hoping, will be a positive first step in doing so."

In January, a family of four including a two and five-year-old died in a horrific crash at the intersection of Highway 11 and Wanuskewin Road. A Saskatoon woman faces charges of impaired driving causing death related to the crash. But the incident once again fuelled protests calling for safety measures at the intersection, which has seen a rise in collisions over the past couple of years.

Jordan and Chanda Van de Vorst and their two-year-old son, Miguire, and five-year-old daughter, Kamryn, were killed in a January highway crash near Saskatoon. (Facebook)