Intersection ‘preview’ may come on Friday
Work nears completion at 4th Avenue and 16th Street
Yuma motorists will soon get some relief from the traffic snarls caused by construction at the heavily used intersection of 4th Avenue and 16th Street.
If all goes well this week, citizens could get a “preview” of a full-functioning intersection as soon as Friday. However, there are “no guarantees” as unexpected delays could pop up, noted Dave Nash, public affairs coordinator for the City of Yuma.
The preview of the now branded Center Pointe intersection would be shortlived as workers still need to finish smaller tasks as the project nears completion.
In the meantime, traffic is set at “right turn only” for a couple of days, including today, as workers lay
the “friction course,” or top layer of asphalt concrete, Nash said.
Drivers are urged to completely avoid the intersection if possible. Access to the Yuma Mesa Shopping Center remains available via northbound 4th Avenue only; left turns in and out of the center are prohibited.
Through-traffic will return on Wednesday and Thursday with at least one lane open in each direction, pushed into the center lanes, as work is done on the outer lanes.
Then, starting Monday, two types of work will begin. One is work on street light poles and connections in the center medians through the intersection. That is likely to last through the week, Nash said.
At the same time, crews will even out the manholes in the work zone. They will start in the center lanes, while those lanes are blocked off for the median work.
“So, back to a minimum of one lane each direction open,” Nash noted.
Once this center lane work is completed, activity on those manholes will continue at isolated locations, meaning most of the intersection will open up to traffic, he explained.
In another month, Nash added, crews will return to lay down permanent lane striping. The intersection itself will then be complete.
“The city thanks Yuma drivers for their patience over the past year and to those who paid close attention to their driving to keep the area safe during construction,” Nash said. “This will hopefully be one less headache for drivers trying to dodge the other city, state and joint projects going on across the area.”
As far as development around the intersection, Sprouts Farmers Market is opening a location at the northwest corner of 4th Avenue and 16th Street sometime this summer. No official plans have been announced for the southwest corner.
The $7.25 million intersection project began in May. The widening project has added a third throughlane, dedicated right-turn lanes and dual left-turn lanes in all four directions. It also includes bike lanes, raised medians and other improvements.
During the project, motorists can take alternative traffic routes, such as 24th, 8th or 32nd streets for east-west through traffic and Arizona Avenue, Avenue A, Pacific Avenue or Avenue B for north-south through traffic.
The city also reminds motorists to obey the 25 mph speed limits in neighborhood streets and to be aware of school zones in the area.