Billingsley says transportation issues abound for Maricopa

With construction ongoing on SR 347 and more transportation related projects either winding down or in the pipeline, Maricopa Transportation Director Brent Billingsley shared where the city stands right now with attendees at last Thursday’s Pinal County Regional Transportation Summit at Harrah’s Ak-Chin Resort.

Billingsley told the audience there are a tremendous number of challenges in Maricopa at the moment.

With a bit of humor, Billingsley informed attendees they would have plenty of time to see what is going on in Maricopa as they sit in traffic with construction going on with SR 347. “No matter how much you widen 347, we need some alternatives,” Billingsley said.

Asked following his presentation what feedback the city was receiving on the SR 347 construction, Billingsley told inmaricopa.com the responses have been 90/10, positive to negative. “I think they (Arizona Department of Transportation) are getting traffic control down,” Billingsley said. “The contractor (Meadow Valley) has also been great in answering any questions. ADOT has also set up a hotline for people to call.”

In his presentation, Billingsley noted Maricopa’s population should continue to grow in the years to come. Billingsley said today’s population is more than 35,000, and the projection for 2010 places it around 60,000. Just 15 years after that (2025), the population is projected to be 179,000. “We were the fastest growing city in the nation in 2005,” Billingsley added.

Billingsley highlighted a number of transportation efforts ongoing in Maricopa at this time. They include: Maricopa Airport Feasibility Study, SR 347 Traffic Signal Design Study and the ADOT High Speed Rail Study. Billingsley added the long-awaited traffic signal at Honeycutt Avenue should be in operation any moment now. That signal will aid drivers when they are trying to turn left onto John Wayne Parkway from Honeycutt.

Billingsley also pointed to several hot issues of interest to Maricopa residents as they drive in and out of town. Among them are the I-10/Queen Creek Interchange, GRIC (Gila River Indian Community)/Ak-Chin Coordination, SR 347/Union Pacific Railroad Grade Separation, Airport Development Funds and Economic Development.

Highlighting two issues, Billingsley noted, “We would love to build an airport in Maricopa, and we’re working towards that. We’re also working hard to build shops here in Maricopa to rid us of a bedroom mentality.”

Photo by Aaron Thacker