ROAD WORK - WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME?
BY THE CITY OF YUMA
ROAD WORK - WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME?
THE YEAR 2019 ends with construction in various roadways: 16th Street, Avenue 3E, 1st Avenue all have City-related work going on, and the City is also part of the expansion of 8th Street to the west.
However, it may seem at times like the orange cones and barricades are “everywhere.” That’s because other streets are affected by private utility companies either replacing or repairing their infrastructure.
The City often gets asked about the timing of road-related projects, particularly when they take place during busier times of year. The City does indeed communicate with affected residents, businesses and other stakeholders prior to beginning a project, and does target specific times of year when we would prefer the work to take place.
Infrastructure projects have a lot of moving pieces. The air temperature can affect the bonding of certain mixes of asphalt surfaces, which can affect the time of year certain types of work can take place. The time that City funding becomes available can also influence a project’s timeline. Also, these are large projects that require everything from the right people signing or approving official paperwork to the cooperation of and coordination with other agencies.
For example, private utility companies such as cable TV, telephone, electric power, gas lines, etc. may need to stake or even relocate some of their own lines before a City project can begin work. While the City and these agencies generally work well together, those other agencies may or may not have timely available manpower to meet the City’s preferred timelines. Unfortunately, this tends to delay many BIZ | January-February 2020 projects away from the time or times of year City would prefer.
That said, the City can and has delayed some projects when certain timelines cannot be met. One example is the improvement to 22nd Street between 4th Avenue and Avenue A. The City delayed that project by one full year when it became apparent that not all parties would be prepared to begin and end the work during the summer break of the school along that roadway.
City project teams always have a goal to minimize inconvenience to residents and are generally good at providing advance notice of unusual access closures. But we’re not perfect. Please try to envision the finished product while we are working, and feel free to contact us if you notice issues that we need to address during the course of any City project. You can tell it’s a City project based on it appearing in the top section of our weekly Road Report, always linked on the homepage of www.yumaaz.gov and published weekly on Sundays in the Yuma Sun.
City road-related projects planned in the coming year:
• 14th Street paving, 1st Avenue to 4th Avenue
• Catalina Drive paving, 32nd Street to 4th Avenue
• Palo Verde Street paving, Catalina Drive to Arizona Avenue
• Avenue 6E Multiuse path and school zone beacon
• Arizona Avenue paving, Palo Verde Street to Country Club Drive (2021)
• Airport Loop improvements (2021)
• Avenue 10E paving, 28th Street to North Frontage Road (2021)
Source: City of Yuma Capital Improvement Program