City to widen portion of Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway next year

Motorists who drive from Maricopa to Casa Grande have likely noticed the new traffic light that was installed a few weeks ago at the highway’s intersection with White and Parker Road.

The growth in Maricopa in recent years has meant increased traffic on the narrow two-lane highway. The heavy truck traffic has taken its toll on the roadway, creating pits in the surface.

Now there is some good news if you happen to frequently drive this route.Next year the city will begin improvements on the mile-plus stretch from Porter Road to White and Parker.

The highway will be widened with turning lanes added at the White and Parker intersection. The estimated cost of the project is $3.1 million.

Transportation Manager Chris Salas said the city is in the final stages of acquiring right of ways from private property owners.

“I believe some of it will be donated, but we will see,” he said. He expects the project will start sometime in 2012 and take less than four months to complete.

“This is a much-needed safety improvement,” he said. “Because there is a huge volume of truck traffic, we wanted to have the ability to have turning lanes and provide additional capacity.”