Construction, accident wreak havoc on weekend traffic

On the heels of months of lane closures on SR 347 between Maricopa and Riggs Road for re-paving, the highway’s accessibility was cut to one lane in town between Edison Road and Cobblestone Farms Drive today. A three-car accident just north of town compounded the issue turning a bad traffic day into a miserable one.

The non-injury accident on southbound SR 347 near milepost 174 occurred at 2:50 p.m. and took 90 minutes to clear, according to the Department of Public Safety.

Christine Fell, a Maricopa resident trying to make her way back into town, said traffic backed up all the way to Maricopa Road. Fell, owner of Tail Waggers Pet Sitting, said she left a client in Ahwatukee at 2 p.m. and did not arrive at her next appointment in Maricopa until 3:30 p.m.

“It’s been horrible,” Fell said of the traffic in recent weeks.

Fell often makes multiple trips to the Valley each day and said she “adds 2-3 hours a day just to get to and from Maricopa. It makes for some long and cranky days.”

In Maricopa, it wasn’t much better on the other side of the median. By 5 p.m., northbound traffic was bumper-to-bumper through town well south of the railroad tracks.

Traffic on SR 347, also known as John Wayne Parkway in town, will be limited to one lane in each direction again tomorrow between Edison Road and Cobblestone Farms Drive.