S. Boundary section will close for upgrade

By Collin Gallant on August 25, 2017.

Medicine Hat News

Road work to repair and slightly widen a portion of South Boundary Road will begin Monday with a busy portion of the route set to close until mid-October.

That will require the total closure of the two-lane road from about 250 metres west of Southridge Drive up to the intersection of Range Road 61A. Traffic will be detoured on to Township Road 120 for the duration.

Officials with the city’s municipal works department said the complete closure of the relatively narrow road is necessary to accommodate the work. It is also safer than attempting to set up alternating one-lane system.

“It’s an inconvenience but it will speed up construction,” said project engineer Chris Coslovich.

Upgrades for the road, which serves as the main route to the county community of Desert Blume, as well as a connector to Highway 3, have been discussed for years.

This month the city announced it would proceed with the work after a cost-sharing agreement had been reached with Cypress County.

Work to resurface and smooth some portions of the road, improve drainage and add an additional foot of shoulder to either side, begins on Aug. 28.

Motorists will be able to reach Desert Blume from the south via Range Road 61A from Township Road 120, or from the west, off Highway No. 3, via the low-level creek crossing on South Boundary Road.

The county will provide $250,000 toward the $1.65-million project. Aecon Transportation West, based in Redcliff, won the contract.

Municipal works stated in a release Thursday that all schedules are weather dependent.