By Dennis Young, with notes from Marg Riddell
With provincial Highway 3 passing through Carman, it is as much a part of the community as the Boyne River. There is no Carmanite who has not travelled its path — navigating the tricky Sperling curve and driving through Brunkild blizzards on the way to Winnipeg. Let’s look back.
The corner of Highways 3 and 13 in Carman received traffic lights in 1981, prompting changes to local parking and pedestrian habits
Highway 3 used to enter Carman from the north, sharing part of the route with Highway 13. For some 20 years, the proposed location of the route between Sperling and Carman was a contentious issue. In 1952, the provincial government announced plans to relocate the highway to the south, entering Carman at the junction of Main Street and Villiard Avenue — known today as the corner of Highways 3 and 13.
However, a delegation from the north opposed the plan and presented a 240-signature petition that brought the project to a standstill. The Chamber of Commerce then circulated a petition of its own, and yet another petition made the rounds near the proposed new route. Eventually, an 1,800-signature document favouring the relocation became the deciding factor, allowing the project to proceed.
In the spring of 1964, work crews began preparing one of the few concrete-paved roads in Manitoba. By August, they had reached the corner of Highways 3 and 13, and by 1966 the Perimeter Highway cut across the route, bringing the city limits closer to Carman. Increased traffic created another problem, as the intersection became a safety concern in the 1970s.
The Provincial Highways Department denied Carman’s request for traffic signals in 1977, saying traffic volumes didn’t justify the expense. Town council settled instead for four-way stop signs but continued voicing frustration from drivers and pedestrians who were navigating the congestion.
By the summer of 1981, the province relented and agreed to cover the entire $45,000 cost — but only if Fourth Avenue, from Women’s World east to the Fireside Inn, was converted from diagonal to parallel parking first.
Business owners along that stretch opposed the change and made their feelings known through newspaper articles and delegations to council. Councillors Graboweski, White and Hetherington voted against the “deal,” while Burnett, Wiebe and McCartney supported it. Mayor Doug Fletcher cast the deciding vote to pass the new bylaw.
Councillor Ken McCartney noted at the time, “If we would choose not to change the parking, the town would have to pick up the entire cost of the lights.” On Dec. 8 at 1:30 p.m., Carman residents had to start paying attention to the community’s first set of traffic lights at the busy 3 and 13 corner.
Along with new parking habits came pedestrian training. Highway supervisor Bob McKibbin reminded residents that the walk signal did not activate automatically — pedestrians needed to push the button.
The S-curve at Sperling had long been the scene of many accidents, and lobbying for improvements took time. Senior project engineer Larry Mann announced plans in 1997 to flatten and reduce the curve so it would not be as sharp. Those plans required approval from head office, the RM of Macdonald and local landowners.
Mann said the final go-ahead would be a formality following a meeting in Sperling, where residents agreed to the necessary right-of-way purchases.
Widening and repaving of Highway 3 through Carman was completed in 1998, and motorists were pleased to see the S-curve re-engineered in 1999.
Just recently in September 2025, the Brunkild bridge showed its age and had to be shut down and traffic converted. Built in 1962 it averaged 3,980 vehicles per day and will again by December.
With a smoother, paved route leading directly to Winnipeg, Carman merchants anticipated — and fought hard to counter — the increase in out-of-town shopping. In the end, they lost that battle.
