 PHOENIX
– With work on a State Route 347 bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks
in Maricopa set to begin later this year, the public will have another
opportunity to review plans at a public meeting on Wednesday, April 5.
The
$55 million project includes a bridge over the railroad tracks, a new
intersection with Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway and a new alignment just east of
the current route.
The
meeting will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, at the Maricopa
Unified School District board room, 44150 W. Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway, just
east of SR 347. An Arizona Department of Transportation presentation will begin
at 6 p.m., and the project team will be available to answer
questions until about 7:30 p.m.
The
bridge is being designed to alleviate railroad-related delays on SR 347, the
main highway connecting Maricopa with Interstate 10 and Phoenix. The SR
347/Union Pacific Railroad intersection currently sees 31,000 vehicles and
40-60 trains each day, with projections of more than 60,000 vehicles and as
many as 100 trains daily by 2040.
ADOT
has been discussing the bridge with the Maricopa community since 2012. After a
public hearing in December 2014, ADOT selected a new route for SR 347 and made
a slight adjustment to the route in 2016 to improve access, capacity and
traffic flow.
Construction
is expected to begin later this year and take about two years to complete. It
is partially funded through a federal Transportation Investment Generating
Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant.
For
more information, visit the project website, azdot.gov/347GS.
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