SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Arizona Department of Transportation will decide by year’s end between one of two remaining options for addressing congestion at Bell Road and Grand Avenue, one of the Valley’s most heavily traveled intersections.
After consideration of nearly two dozen design variations, ADOT is down to studying two proposals that would take Bell Road over Grand Avenue and the adjacent Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad freight line.
One design would allow drivers to make turns on the platform, the other that would prohibit direct turns, instead guiding vehicles through a network of existing intersections to make the transition between the two major thoroughfares.
“Is it (the latter idea) better than Option A (the plan permitting direct turns)?” asked Community and Economic Development Director Jeff Mihelich as he detailed the proposals before the City Council at its Sept. 4 workshop. “Not in staff’s opinion, not even close.”
Business impact
One of the primary reasons Surprise officials prefer Option A, known as the “median urban design,” is that it minimizes loss of business property, compared with previous ideas and Option B, known as “grade separation only.”
“One of the best reasons for this alternative (the median-urban design) is they’re staying within the existing right-of-way. The business loss would be significant under those (earlier) designs,” Mr. Mihelich noted.
A third option still under consideration – Option C, or “no build” — still under consideration would leave the intersection as is, a choice Surprise officials clearly believe is impractical.
The project is being funded through dedicated county tax revenues previously allocated under a public question approved nearly a decade ago. The price tag ranges from $66.2 million for the median urban design to $48.4 million for the grade separation only design.
Mayor Sharon Wolcott and the other five council members present last week agreed their preference is for median urban design, the layout providing for direct turns. District 2 Councilman Richard Alton was absent.
“It’s kind of a no-brainer at this point,” offered District 3 Councilman John Williams following the meeting. “If nothing else, it has minimal impact on the imprint of all those businesses in that area.”
“It’s time to find a solution that’s in the best interest of our community as a whole,” said Ms. Wolcott, noting 26 different variations of a solution to the intersection’s heavy traffic have been offered at one time or another. “This is a major, major gateway for the city of Surprise, so it needs to be done right.”
The City Council was expected to approve a resolution at its Sept. 11 business meeting, formalizing its support for the median urban design option.
Surprise officials’ endorsement of a design is but the latest step in a process begun several years ago and does not commit ADOT to a particular plan.
“The city’s stance will be given the same consideration as any other comments from stakeholder agencies or constituents, including business owners,” stated ADOT spokesman Doug Nintzel in an e-mail. “We’ve appreciated any input as the team works to finish the study. We don’t want to prejudge its outcome.”
Dist. 5 Councilman Leo Mankiewicz believes the city’s position will play a role in the final outcome.
“Surprise has had a lot of weight all along in terms of whittling down all the various alternatives they gave us to begin with. There was a whole bunch,” he said.
ADOT timetable
ADOT is in the midst of two evaluations that will determine its final choice for the Bell Road-Grand Avenue intersection. The agency is expected to release a final design concept report in December as well as findings of an assessment of the project’s impact on the environment.
“The alternatives study looks at the impacts that the intersection options would have on the surrounding community, including homes and businesses, as well as traffic, while also addressing requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act,” stated Mr. Nintzel.
The study also will evaluate economic impact on the surrounding area, something of which area business owners are wary.
Merchants have expressed concerns over both the long-term impact of a two-tiered interchange replacing the grade-level crossing as well as the short-term effects of construction closures on business. The issue concerns Surprise council members and officials as well.
Mr. Mankiewicz, whose district includes the stores and shops south of Bell Road and west of Grand Avenue, suggested city transportation officials could consider adjusting signalization to help ease flow around the construction zone.
“We have an intelligent light system. Let’s use it,” Mr. Mankiewicz said after the meeting.
While construction detours have been discussed, no final designs have been set, stated Mr. Nintzel.
“Since we have not yet selected a preferred option for the intersection improvements, we haven’t reached the stage of designing construction detours. Preliminary detours would be planned during the design phase and actually finalized when we get to the point of selecting a construction contractor,” he continued.
Both Surprise officials and ADOT representatives have strived to keep local merchants abreast of progress on the Bell Road-Grand Avenue intersection issue. That includes discussing ways to help businesses draw customers during the project. City officials will work on maximizing signage for businesses, Mr. Mihelich told the council.
“When it comes to signage for businesses during construction, it is absolutely critical. We have to do everything we can to provide enhanced signage opportunities during construction,” he said.
The layouts
Under the median urban design interchange concept backed by Surprise officials, Grand Avenue traffic would exit and enter Bell Road via ramps along the median of Grand Avenue, then proceed to turn either left or right at the top of the platform when permitted by traffic signals. Dual left turn lanes from Grand Avenue onto Bell Road would give the system the desired capacity for handling turning traffic, Mr. Mihelich said.
Drivers on Bell Road would enter Grand Avenue via turn lanes on the platform. For example, motorists heading east along Bell Road wishing to turn onto southbound or Phoenix-bound Grand Avenue would use a right-hand exit lane off Bell Road that would take them onto a ramp sloping downward and into an eventual merge with the left-hand lane of southbound Grand Avenue. A westbound Bell Road motorist wishing to make the same turn would do so from a left turn lane at the top of the platform regulated by a traffic signal, directing them onto the ramp leading down and eventually into the left lane of Grand Avenue.
Grand Avenue traffic would cross under Bell Road in both directions without ever stopping.
Use of the median for exiting and entering traffic is not a new concept. The layout is used along Interstate 10 in downtown Phoenix at Third Avenue and Fifth Avenue. However, council members suggested signage warning drivers well in advance of having to exit Grand Avenue from the left rather than right lanes will be important.
“As long as the signage is there and we do it the right way, I think we’ll be fine,” said Mr. Williams.
While the median urban design combines many turning options at one spot, that is a key reason it is supported by Surprise officials. The grade separation only design would spread access between Bell Road and Grand Avenue over a network of existing intersections, requiring widening at Bell and Litchfield roads, Bell and Dysart roads and Grand Avenue and Dysart Road. The Grand Avenue-Litchfield Road crossing would be reconfigured.
“Instead of impacting only one intersection, you’re talking about impacts at Dysart and Grand, and Dysart and Bell, and Litchfield and Grand, and Litchfield and Bell,” he said.
Other issues
A concern raised by council members with a two-tiered interchange — either the median urban design or grade separation only concepts — is aesthetics and preventing the walls supporting the overpass and ramps from becoming targets of graffiti artists.
“Obviously, that’s a showpiece in town, and you’ve got to keep it nice and clean,” Mr. Mankiewicz said.
Mr. Mihelich said a number of landscape and design strategies can be incorporated into the project to not only deter graffiti but enhance the interchange’s appearance. He cited enhancements along Loop 202 in the East Valley that go beyond murals and paintings to land forms, colors and animal depictions.
“It’s an opportunity for us to do some community design. You can do things with railings or light standards. Landscaping is a significant opportunity here,” he told the council.
Another potential element would be flags or banners announcing drivers are entering a key part of Surprise.
Money is already earmarked in the project, which is being funded through revenues from Proposition 400. Approved by voters throughout Maricopa County in November 2004, the measure extended a half-cent sales tax to fund major transportation projects throughout the county.
“This does not mean the city of Surprise has to use taxpayer money to pay for the improvements. This is state money that already has been collected and already has been budgeted,” Mr. Mihelich said.
Building a new interchange at Bell Road and Grand Avenue carries potential economic advantages, the Community and Economic Development director noted.
“If we’re doing a site visit, bringing people in to look at specific sites, and we have to wait for signals at Grand and Bell, it’s not going to leave a good impression on someone who’s interested in making a multi-million dollar investment in the city of Surprise,” he said.
News editor Jeff Grant can be reached at jgratn@newszap.com or 623-445-2805.
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