Arizona Department of Transportation SR 179 Improvement Project Welcome to the State Route (SR) 179 Project Weekly Construction Update - your electronic connection to the SR 179 Project with the most current information on construction plans and activities. What to Watch for Week of February 18 Project 1 Project 2
Traffic Switch South of the Village of Oak Creek It is anticipated that traffic will be switched onto new pavement south of the Village of Oak Creek so that work can begin to complete the west side of the large roadway cut in that area. The work is, as always, dependent upon weather. With the completion of the roundabouts through the Village, the raised medians will be the next focus of construction crews. The entire roadway system, including the roundabouts and raised medians, is designed for increased mobility and better flow of traffic. The medians help to reduce the conflicts and traffic backups caused by turning vehicles, and the roundabouts provide for easy u-turns, since traffic within the circle has the right-of-way. As the raised medians take shape, please remember, and remind your friends, neighbors, customers, and visitors that when needing access to a destination across the raised median, proceed to the next roundabout and make the easy u-turn back to that destination. Project 2 See What the Finished Project Will Look Like at www.scenic179.com A series of photo simulations has been added to the project website to give the community an idea of what the finished project will look like. The simulations show five locations within project 2, including the new roundabout at the "Y.". Work to Begin on New Post Office Driveway Crews will be clearing vegetation and conducting rough grading activities to build a new driveway for the main Sedona post office that is located at Brewer Road and SR 89A. The designated right-hand turn lane will be needed for the construction work zone, so right hand turns into the post office will be accomplished from the right through-lane. Other than that minor change, post office circulation will not be affected at this time. Once the new driveway is complete and functioning, work will begin on the new roundabout at Brewer. All work is being fully coordinated with the post office and with Hyatt Resort. Vegetation Removal at Oak Creek Bridge To build the new temporary access road for bridge construction equipment in the Oak Creek area, vegetation removal will commence this week on the east side of Oak Creek near the bridge where a new retaining wall will eventually be constructed. All environmental issues are being closely coordinated with the relevant regulatory agencies and other environmental partners. ADOT and its contractor fully understand the sensitivity of vegetation removal in this pristine area and are taking great care with this work. Vegetation Removal South of Business District Construction crews will commence vegetation removal and clearing on the southbound side of SR 179 between Poco Diablo and Morgan Road. The new roadway, with all of the new amenities like curb and gutter, shoulders, medians, etc., will be approximately twice as wide as the existing road. All vegetation removal
other than in the bridge area is for box culvert and roadway work and is necessary to build the Community approved road. All has been clearly identified in all plans to date and is within ADOT's right-of way. As with Project 1, ADOT and the contractor will take extreme care and only remove vegetation that is absolutely necessary for road construction. Also, once the roadway is complete, landscaping will be used to re-vegetate the area from Canyon to the Y with this contract and from Back o’ Beyond to Canyon in the future. Please note: Changes to construction plans can happen frequently due to weather, equipment availability and personnel issues. We try to anticipate construction activities a week in advance but changes may occur. Intermittent lane closures, with short delays, may not always be known in advance. For a complete listing of freeway and highway restrictions across Arizona visit ADOT's Travel Information Site at www.az511.com or call 5-1-1. If you have information for the Scenic 179 construction updates, please send it to pr@scenic179.com or fax to 928-204-9835. To change your e-mail address, add someone new, or request a text version of this update, please e-mail pr@scenic179.com. |