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Community Project
August 1, 2007
Construction project will smooth out once rough road to Central’s Signal Peak Campus
COOLIDGE, AZ – Retrieving directions from an online mapping website to get to Central Arizona College’s Signal Peak Campus from towns like Sacaton, Chandler, Queen Creek and Gilbert generally result in an as-the-crow-flies set of instructions.
And crows tend to fly right down bumpy Signal Peak Road, the same dirt trail that is the closest connection between the campus and State Route 87 – the main route from Coolidge to Maricopa County.
But by October, Signal Peak Road will become a macadam thoroughfare smoothly navigable by employees, students, visitors, athletic fans and theater patrons who regularly use MapQuest to find their way into Vaquero Country.
In early August, Pivotal Sandia, LLC (Developers of the Sandia Master Planned Community) and Pulte Homes Corporation (Developers of the Martin Valley Community) will begin an approximate $2.5 million paving improvement project for Signal Peak Road from State Route 87 to Val Vista Road.
“When completed these improvements will greatly reduce dust from current traffic on the road,” Phil Zeblisky, general manager for Pivotal Sandia, LLC, stated. “And, it will provide much-improved access to the Signal Peak Campus from State Route 87.”
The opportunity is a win-win for Central Arizona College with no cost involved.
“This will be a tremendous visibility boost for our campus here at Signal Peak, and it will make this campus more readily accessible to community residents,” Teresa Verbout, director of public information and marketing, said.
There are currently two large signs on State Route 87 directing traffic to Central Arizona College down Signal Peak Road. Beginning in early August, Signal Peak Road will be closed from Val Vista all the way to State Route 87, transforming dirt, dust and mud into pavement. It will be the most direct route to the campus and will help promote the green initiative by reducing auto emissions as cars scale back miles.
“I measured the approximate distances that will be saved by students and employees coming from Chandler, Sacaton and Gilbert and believe that it is about 6.75 miles,” Zeblisky, general manager for Pivotal Sandia, LLC, stated. “Assuming a traffic speed of about 40 miles per hour to account for stop signs and delays on Skousen Road, I think that the time savings should be about 10 minutes.”
Zeblisky’s company is in charge of the project that is laying a foundation for housing growth in the area. Fixing up local roads, especially one like Signal Peak Road, is a priority. He has worked with both Pinal County and the Gila River Indian Community to finally surface a choppy road that already sees up to a 1000 cars per day traverse its ruts and rocks.
Currently, those traveling to Central’s Signal Peak Campus on Route 87 toward Coolidge must cut over rapidly-growing Skousen Road or wind their way through the center of Coolidge. If drivers don’t take State Route 87, then the option is to speed down Interstate 10, cutting over from Casa Grande to circumvent Signal Peak Mountain on the opposite side of the campus.
The project will be built in two phases. Phase one will result in the completion of two lanes of paving from State Route 87 south to Woodruff Road along the existing Signal Peak Road alignment. It also will involve the installation of a dedicated right turn lane on Signal Peak Road at its intersection with State Route 87; installation of a left turn lane into Signal Peak Road for traffic heading west on State Route 87; and installation of a right turn deceleration lane into Signal Peak Road for traffic heading east on State Route 87.
Upon completion of the first phase, the segment of the thoroughfare north of Val Vista Road will be named Sandia Way. The developer of Sandia will be obligated to add a traffic signal at the intersection with State Route 87 in a future phase when traffic conditions qualify the intersection for a signal in accordance with state standards.
“To allow construction of this road to proceed there will be various road closures and access restrictions that will begin during the first week of August and continue until late September or October, depending on construction progress,” Zeblisky stated. “Signal Peak Road will be closed to all access about August 1 and will remain closed until approximately September 30.”
In addition to this closure, there will be delays along State Route 87 at the very end of the project to accommodate chip sealing of the new sections.