Work on SR 347 set for motion on Thursday

With road repairs on SR 347 speeding up beginning this Thursday, a meeting was held late last week at the Global Water Facility for an update on the planned work.

“The purpose of the meeting was to inform the community and local businesses of the upcoming improvements on SR 347,” City of Maricopa Public Affairs Manager Jennifer Grentz said. “Residents seemed to be concerned with how this would affect their commute.”

According to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), the first phase (the rural portion of SR 347) of the work will include the roadways between the Pinal County line and the Maricopa city limits (the northern wall of Rancho El Dorado). The construction will take place from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily.

At a price tag of nearly $6 million, the 10-mile stretch of work will include a signal light at Casa Blanca Road. The contractor for the project is Meadow Valley.

Slated to start Aug. 13, the urban portion of the work runs from the Maricopa city limits to Edison Road, adjacent to Fry’s Marketplace. That construction is slated between 7 p.m. and 4 a.m.

Before that work begins, ADOT will have to make a request of the city of Maricopa to get permission to do overnight work in town. The City has an ordinance prohibiting nighttime construction work within 1,000 feet of a residence and a number of homes are located in that distance range from where the road work will be done.

The Mayor will reportedly make a request to council at its next meeting on Aug. 7 so that ADOT can do the overnight work.

Scheduled to go to bid in fiscal 2008 is the resurfacing of six miles of 347 from the Pinal County line traveling north. Construction of a dual left turn lane at Queen Creek Traffic Interchange at I-10 will also take place.

Drivers trying to get out of Maricopa for their morning work commute or other activities are advised to take the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway to I-10.

ADOT Spokesperson Teresa Welborn added that both ADOT and the City of Maricopa are working together to ensure traffic moves smoothly and safely during rush hour traffic. Welborn said the goal is to have two lanes open for rush hour traffic. The work includes milling and stripping, and hot in-place recycles (paving).

According to Grentz, there are no future meetings on the road work planned at this time, but that could change. “We are aware that there may be a need for additional meetings on this topic in the near future,” Grentz added.

SR 347 was widened from two to four lanes in 1992.

Joyce Hollis contributed to this story; Photo by Dave Thomas