The crabapple tree on the traffic island near the intersection of Third Street and Division Avenue is set to come down as work crews prepare to complete sewer work in the area and realign the busy intersection.--NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
A busy intersection leading in and out of downtown will see work this summer as a revamp of nearby water mains is completed.
The crabapple tree at the intersection of Third Street and Division Ave. will be chopped down starting Monday as the roadway is realigned, according to a city release.
Water and sewer pipes along Division Avenue in the Hill area have been replaced in stages over several years, and 2020 saw southern intersections closed for long stretches of time.
This year, a final phase will see mains and sewer lines changed out on the steep section between Second and Third streets.
The tree on the traffic island closest to the Medicine Hat Lawn Bowling Club will be removed along with several shrubs starting on March 15.
Construction will follow at a later, unspecified date.
The city’s tree replacement strategy is to plant three trees for each one removed from public land, placing them potentially in alternate locations determined by the parks department.
Make way for pathway
Silver maples near Hill Road will be removed to make way for new trail to connect downtown to southern sections of the Heritage Trail network near Seven Persons Creek area and Crestwood.
The trees, which sit on the boulevard next to the Canadian Pacific marshalling yard, are deteriorated, according to the city arborist, and replacement trees are destined for the Saratoga dog park this spring.
They will be removed starting Monday to make way for a three-metre-wide trail that will run the 550 metres in length from the intersection of S. Railway Street and Kingsway Avenue to Fifth Street SE.
That extends from a recently completed walking path added to S. Railway to Scholten Hill when that roadway was rebuilt and reconfigured two years ago.
That central project, combined with rehabilitation of the link between Echo Dale and the Gas City Campground, is budgeted to cost $1.4 million, all but $300,000 paid for by federal grants.
Federal grants are also being applied to widening of pathway along Carry Drive.
A further rehabilitation, widening or installation of 4.8 kilometres of trails on Carry Drive and Strachan Road could cost $1.7 million in provincial grant money.
