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rvukanovich
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Posted: Mon Apr 21st, 2008 04:41 am |
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| They took the money out of the budget for Bell Road so where did they find the money to fix Bell Rd now?
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spincycle
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Posted: Wed Apr 16th, 2008 01:51 am |
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Build hundreds of homes and THEN we'll put in the roadways & infrastructure. BRILLIANT!
City of Surprise-Because Expectations Are Sooooo Overrated!
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AngryDysartParent
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Posted: Wed Apr 16th, 2008 01:20 am |
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This city has its priorities all mixed up. How is it that other cities can improve and beautify their streets without waiting for development and we half-ass everything around here? Get Litchfield and Reems widened with medians and landscaping from Peoria to Bell. Get Cactus, Waddell and Greeway widened with medians and landscaping from El Mirage to Reems.
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rvukanovich
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Posted: Wed Apr 16th, 2008 12:56 am |
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With the Engineering Department that the City of Surprise has, no one especially the City Council knows what these projects will eventually cost.
To understand where I am coming from, I am not criticizing the Council, the way these project are presented to them over and over again, it is not clear what they are voting on.
Having been a General Engineering Contractor in the state of California and Arizona I have repeatedly told the City of my concerns that the construction contracts were not clearly defined as to what the city was going to receive.
Last edited on Wed Apr 16th, 2008 02:09 am by rvukanovich
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Surprise News Editor
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Posted: Tue Apr 15th, 2008 09:42 pm |
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By Matt Loeschman
Independent Newspapers
April in Surprise means most baseball players are gone, winter visitors depart, temperatures rise and road construction is all around us.
Drivers are asked to exercise patience as major thoroughfares shut down or have restrictions for various types of work, including the next phases of the Building a Better Bell project.
“It seems like there’s always some restrictions somewhere,” resident Shelly Travieso said last week during a transportation open house regarding extending and upgrading El Mirage Road. “The bottom line is we need more east/west alternatives in our city. There’s really only one, maybe two, ways out of Surprise. It’s pretty bad when there is no construction – you add road restrictions to the mix and it gets even worse.”
According to http://www.surpriseaz.com, there are four major road closures and/or restrictions right now in the city.
Roadway improvements are ongoing at Bell Road and Dysart Road, restricting at least one lane on the city’s and state’s busiest roadway based on vehicles traveling Bell Road each day.
Additionally, Greenway Road at Parkview Place is the site of road restrictions through this week as crews install underground utilities.
Greasewood Street between Smokey and Bola drives is completely shut down until May 21 for utility work. Two projects – underground utility installation and road improvements – have Sarival Avenue between Cactus and Waddell roads closed until at least April 30.
“It seems like there is a lot going on at once,” resident Kevyn Spurlock noted. “With the traffic we deal with here, the projects need to be spaced out a little better.”
Earlier this month, another project affected Bell Road west of Grand Avenue.
Slurry patching shut down lanes during a three day period April 8-10, although work was completed between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to not conflict with heavier rush hour traffic.
The slurry patching was necessary to protect the road from potentially damaging rainfall ahead of more permanent improvements planned under phase 2 of the Bell Road reconstruction project set for this summer.
Motorists’ patience will be tested to the limit with scorching temperatures and potential delays in the next few months.
City officials plan to commence phases 2 and 3 of a five-phase $12.5 million reconstruction of Bell Road beginning July 1. Construction is estimated to last until at least November.
“It is a very aggressive construction schedule,” Surprise City Engineer Dr. Robert Maki explained. “We want to build on the success we had in phase 1.”
The first phase was originally set to end last December, but the contractor was able to finish the job more than one month ahead of schedule. City officials moved up the start of phase 2 and hope the work again ends on time or before November.
Westbound lanes from Parkview Place to Loop 303 and eastbound lanes from Parkview to Grand Avenue will be reconstructed during the summer at a cost of just under $5 million. Work on this section of Bell follows the first phase that smoothed the westbound lanes from Grand Avenue to Parkview.
Two intersections along Bell Road will also be improved during the process, according to Dr. Maki.
According to city documentation, new turn lanes will be constructed at Reems Road as well as further infrastructure installed for the Bell Road Intelligent Traffic System. Dips at the intersection will be leveled out.
Work at Litchfield Road includes leveling the dip and installation of Arizona Public Service infrastructure for future city power needs.
Crews will also install a traffic signal at Bell Road and Sarival Avenue.
These projects will add nearly $3 million to the price tag, bringing it to about $7.6 million total. Budget transfers will help pay the additional $3 million, the city engineer noted.
Even with all the improvements, Surprise’s traffic problems are not going away any time soon.
District 6 Councilman Skip Hall said his constituents are offering their opinions and logging their concerns.
“It’s what I hear the most complaints about since I took office,” he explained. “It is a constant struggle.”
Post your opinions in the Public Issues forums at http://www.newszap.com. News Editor Matt Loeschman can be reached at 623-445-2871 or mloeschman@newszap.com.
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