Crash site still drawing mourners
Impromptu memorial sprawls Alongside notorious intersection
THE INTERSECTION OF SASKATCHEWAN HIGHWAYS 35 AND 335 Traffic slows down as vehicles approach the site where Highway 35 meets Highway 335.
The speed limit around the area, 30 kilometres south of Nipawin, was reduced to 60 kilometres per hour this spring after a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team smashed into a semi truck there on the evening of April 6. Sixteen people were killed and another 13 were injured.
In the weeks and months since, the site has been transformed into a sprawling roadside memorial.
Saskatchewan Highways spokesman Doug Wakabayashi said it’s likely the largest roadside memorial in the province’s history. Nearly four months after the crash, people continue to congregate there, to walk between the crosses, take photos or simply observe in silence.
“I probably passed that intersection four times last week and there’s always a minimum of two vehicles there no matter when I went by,” said Arthur Lalonde, reeve of the Rural Municipality of Connaught council, where the intersection lies.
Wakabayashi said the ministry and the local RCMP detachment are keeping an eye on the memorial and there are no plans yet to get rid of the temporary speed reduction in its vicinity.
When that will happen will “just depend on how many people are going out to the site,” he said.
A large wooden cross in Humboldt Broncos green stands at the back of a cluster of smaller crosses, the phrase “Humboldtstrong ” emblazoned in gold across its arms.
There are two crosses for each of the 16 people who died in the collision; others crosses are simply unmarked or have “Broncos” written across them. Unopened cans of Bud Lite sit next to many. There are hockey sticks, pucks, skates and jerseys; plastic flowers and stuffed toys; ball caps and Canadian flags.
Some people have left notes of condolence or words of dismay, questioning how such a tragedy could have happened.
Lalonde said the rural municipality has reached out to the Humboldt Broncos and offered to donate land near the intersection so that a permanent memorial can be erected about 15 metres farther from the road than the spot where the current memorial sits.
Lalonde said no plans have yet been finalized.
Spokespeople for the Humboldt Broncos and the City of Humboldt have said discussions with many people, including the families of those affected by the crash, need to be had before decisions are made about what any permanent memorials will look like.
Wakabayashi said the ministry has received lots of correspondence since the crash from people who want things changed to make the intersection safer.
Highway 35 runs north to south, while Highway 335 runs east to west. Highway 335 features stop signs with flashing lights at the intersection and signs warning that a stop sign is ahead.
The April 6 collision happened when the Broncos bus travelling north to Nipawin on Highway 35 collided with a semi headed west on Highway 335.
Critics of the intersection have said a clump of trees can obscure the view from a vehicle travelling west on Highway 335.
Lalonde said he is in favour of having rumble strips installed along Highway 335 close to the intersection.
Wakabayashi said the province reviews highway safety after every fatal crash to see if any improvements are needed from a traffic engineering perspective to make things safer.
He said in this case, “given the magnitude and the significant attention that this collision has received,” the government has thought it “prudent” to hire an independent third-party consultant engineer to do that work.
Wakabayashi said the procurement process for the consultant is in the final stages. He was not sure when that work will begin or when it is expected to wrap up.