City makes deal with Box Springs group for road completion

By Medicine Hat News on June 16, 2020.

Medicine Hat’s wild, wavy ride may soon be retired.

The pavement along Box Springs Boulevard will receive its final top layer of paving starting this week after an apparent agreement between the City of Medicine Hat, which often heard complaints about the state of the road, and the developer, which still legally owns it.

A brief release from the city late Monday states that work to complete the top-lift of pavement commenced on June 11 and will continue through August. It will include a cycling pathway outlined in original planning documents filed in the early 2000s, and a plan to maintain traffic flow.

More information about the deal could be released soon, according to a spokesperson with the Box Springs Business Park.

That group is still legally responsible for the roadway that sees recurring pothole problems each spring, but couldn’t be finalized because of a Catch-22 related to finalizing utility connection points.

Usually, roads in new developments are the responsibility and owned by the developer until they are complete, then handed over to the municipality.

However, in the case of Box Springs Boulevard, the delay has lasted more than 13 years as huge tracts of land are marketed in variable lot sizes, meaning connection points are not yet set or installed.

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