Welcome to Pinal County

1. Welcome to Pinal County

2. The Three C’s of Hunt Highway Greg Stanley Pinal County Public Works AACE Regional Conference Oct 1-3, 2008

3. Agenda • Background • Project Specifics • Phase I & DCR - Scope, Project Limits & Schedule • The 3 C’s (Phase I) • Cooperation (Communication & Coordination) • Agencies, Development, Utilities & Right-of-way • Complexity • Drainage, Fissures, Traffic • Creative Solutions • Drainage Channels, Fissure Mitigation Measures, Construction Phasing/Traffic Control Plan

4. Background • Explosive Growth Over Past 5 Years • 5 Major Master planned Communities • Existing 2-lane facility, some areas of new development widened to 5-lanes • 20,000+ on average vehicles per day • With the Ironwood Project now complete, widening Hunt Hwy is Pinal County’s #1 Transportation Priority

5. Project Specifics - Scope • May ’07 (SOQ process) hired RBF Consulting as Design Engineer • Within 1-year from NTP: • 100% PS&E for Phase I – Empire Blvd to Thompson Rd • DCR for entire 12-Mile corridor from Empire to Town of Florence Limits • Project originally scoped between Empire Blvd and just west of Thompson Rd • Revised Oct ’07 to include full Thompson Rd intersection improvements • Revised April ’08 drainage channel design • Revised July ’08 to include raised median for access control

6. Phase I - Scope • Phase I – Empire Blvd to Thompson Rd • 5-lane minor arterial section, two through, raised median, 4.5’ paved shoulders • Drainage channel design (Sonoqui Wash) • J-curve commercial property • North side of Hunt Hwy from Valley View Rd to J-curve

7. Phase I - Scope • Phase I – Empire Blvd to Thompson Rd (cont’d) • 5 major culvert crossings • Empire Blvd (2,400 CFS) • End of J-curve (2,300 CFS) • Valley View Rd (400 CFS) • Thompson Rd (660 CFS) • 1200’ East of Thompson Rd (900 CFS) • Traffic signals • Empire Blvd • Thompson Rd

8. Phase I - Project Limits

9. Design Concept Report (DCR) • Empire to Town of Florence Limits (~12 Miles) • Analyzes “future” 7-lane principal arterial section • Right-of-way • Utilities • Relocations • Traffic Engineering • Drainage • Geotechnical • Environmental • Land use

10. DCR Limits

11. Phase I - Schedule • Funding Constraints • Initially to be Development funded (Impact Fees) • Slowdown in market • Previous Development Agreements • Currently looking into… • Greater Arizona Development Authority (GADA) funding • Highway Expansion & Extension Loan Program (HELP) funding Pinal County Hunt Hwy Fund

12. Phase I - Schedule • Schedule • 100% PS&E for Phase I – Sept/Oct ‘08 • Construction • Bid process Nov/Dec ‘08 • GADA/HELP loan secured in Dec ’08 • Start construction Jan ’09 (8-10 Mos)

13. Cooperation (Communication & Coordination) • Agencies • Empire Blvd/Ellsworth Rd Intersection • Town of Queen Creek • Maricopa County • MCDOT • FCDMC • MCDOT/Queen Creek’s Ellsworth Rd Project – Empire Blvd to Cloud Rd • 7-lane improvement

14. Cooperation (Communication & Coordination) • Development • Commercial • J-curve Property (San Tan Gateway) • San Tan Commons • Store More Self Storage • H2T2 • San Tan Borgata Commercial • Borgata Professional Development Plaza • Residential • San Tan Shadows • San Tan Heights

15. Cooperation (Communication & Coordination) • Developers / Engineers / Utilities • On-going coordination meetings • Design • Right-of-way • Construction Scheduling • Who will be there first…

16. Cooperation (Communication & Coordination) • Property Owners & Right-of-Way • 36 properties • 13AC right-of-way • 8.5AC drainage easements • Meeting w/ each owner individually • Explanation of project, given copies of legal's, copies of plans/reports, etc. • Appraisal completed (outside consultant) • Meeting again w/ owner acquisition agreement drafted

17. Complexity • Attempting to Provide “Regional” Drainage Solution with 3-mile Widening Project • Regional Drainage Solution has to balance: • Proposed Commercial and Residential Development Individual Drainage Solutions • Existing Drainage Conditions – Roadway Closures During Even Minor Storm Events • Current Pinal County and FCDMC Guidelines • Empire Box Culvert • Prone to heavy sediment deposits • Downstream Sonoqui Wash not well defined – adjacent properties within floodplain

18. Complexity • Drainage Complexity Overview

19. Complexity • Fissures within the Project Area

20. Complexity • Traffic • 20,000 ADT • Equivalent to Broadway Rd, Southern Ave in Phoenix and Orange Grove Rd, Stone Ave in Tucson • Very Limited Alternate Routes • Up to 7’ Vertical Difference During Construction • Due to Culvert Crossings • Construction Phasing • Hunt Hwy/Empire Blvd Intersection • Access Management

21. Creative Solutions • Drainage Channels • Location/Alignments • Balance of Good Hydraulic Design with R/W and Drainage Easement Impacts

22. Creative Solutions • Fissure Mitigation • Interceptor Trenches/Fissure Mitigation Trenches

23. Creative Solutions • Traffic • Temporary Pavement • Create Separation from Work Zone Near Areas of Large Fill Heights • Phasing of Improvements • Hunt Hwy/Empire Blvd Intersection – 3 Phase Construction including Detour Plan

24. Creative Solutions • Traffic (cont’d) • Access Management & Control

25. Questions?????