THATCHER — Motorists should add extra time for any travel on 8th Street in Thatcher starting next week.
During Monday’s meeting of the Thatcher Town Council, Town Manager Heath Brown said work is going to begin on the narrow portion of the road, west of the railroad crossing.
“This first section is going to be a lot of utility relocations — power, water, gas and irrigation. Once all that’s done, we’ll bring in the contractor to actually build the road,” Brown said.
Once work begins Aug. 27, the road will be reduced to a single lane, with flaggers in place for traffic control. He said road restrictions could be in place as much as a year for the construction.
To ensure as many people are aware of the construction and travel restrictions, Brown said town staff will go door-to-door to notify homeowners in the area, as well as place ads on radio and post regular updates across the town’s social media platforms.
Last year, the state allocated $4.5 million to the town for the widening of 8th Street, between 20th Avenue and 1st Avenue.
After the town was able to acquire rights-of-way from the property owners along the road, the City of Safford began work moving the water lines on the portion of the road from 20th to the railroad crossing.
Town Engineer Tom Palmer said the town continues to negotiate for reasonable payment for railroad right-of-way.
