By Hank Prim, City Administrator, Box Elder

Too often, communities wait to address a need until it becomes a problem, even when that problem’s been visible on the horizon for years. I find this is less a commentary on the people at the helm and more a symptom of one of government’s most persistent challenges: we’re far more accustomed to putting out the fire burning today than preventing tomorrow’s fire from starting in the first place.

When it comes to growth and development, setting a community apart requires thinking ahead. It means anticipating what will be needed five, ten, or even twenty years down the road rather than simply responding to what is needed today. Box Elder celebrated a good example of just that this past week with the ceremonial ribbon cutting for the new Bennett Road bridge, which improves the connection between Mall Drive/Seger Drive and Bennett Road in the northwest portion of the city.

If you journey out to the bridge today, you’ll find undeveloped agricultural land and sporadic housing along the roadway leading from the commercial hub. In some corners, I’ve heard it described as simply a “bridge to nowhere.” I’d argue that characterization is shortsighted and reflects the very mindset we’re working to change in Box Elder and across the region.

I often think of infrastructure projects like these as putting together a puzzle. When you lay those first pieces on the table, it’s not always clear what the finished picture will look like. The Bennett Road bridge is one of those first pieces for Box Elder, put in place ahead of growth that I expect will make that area look markedly different five or ten years from now.

With the Interstate 90 Exit 63 interchange and other I-90 corridor improvements coming to that area, the Bennett Road project is about more than rebuilding a road or replacing a bridge: It’s about putting the infrastructure in place today to better connect our region and prepare for the growth that will follow.

And Bennett Road isn’t the only example.

Box Elder continues putting that forward-thinking approach into practice with projects like the intersection improvements at Liberty Boulevard and Reagan Drive, which will help open the Liberty Boulevard corridor to further, and safer, development. The same goes for our partnership with the City of Rapid City to place a traffic signal at North Elk Vale Road and East Mall Drive. Each is another piece of the puzzle and another investment in making sure future growth is built on a solid foundation.

None of these projects happen in a vacuum, though. They’re the result of partnerships that span our region and every level of government. For the Bennett Road bridge, we were fortunate to leverage support through the South Dakota Department of Transportation’s Bridge Improvement Grant program. The Liberty Boulevard improvements, meanwhile, are moving forward through an agreement with Pennington County that exchanges responsibility and funding.

That cooperation matters. No single city, county, agency, or organization can build the region’s future alone.

Good growth requires us to look beyond what’s immediately in front of us, put the right pieces in place, and trust that thoughtful investments today will prepare us for the opportunities of tomorrow.

And, just as importantly, it requires us to work as a team.

I’m continually fortunate to be part of what I believe is one of the best teams in the state.