SAFFORD — The 20th Avenue improvement project is almost complete.
On Monday, the new stoplights installed at 20th Avenue and Relation Street were made operational, while crews completed the work to get the new stoplights at 20th Avenue and Golf Course Road up and running.
The 20th Avenue widening project was initiated in 2018 and construction was planned for 2020. However the pandemic, combined with supply-chain issues, forced numerous delays in the work.
It also caused cost overruns, ballooning the project to more than $5.7 million. Despite most of the money coming from the Federal Highway Administration through ADOT, the city found itself with a half-million dollar shortfall until state Sen. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, was able to secure a $500,000 state allocation in 2021.
In addition to the new stoplights, improvements to 20th Avenue between Relation Street and Golf Course Road include four travel lanes; a center left turn lane; storm drain improvements; curb, gutter and sidewalks on both sides of the street; and a new 12-inch water line and pressure reducing station to improve service to Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center and surrounding area.
