Valley Metro has started construction on the South Central Extension/Downtown Hub light-rail project, with crews starting to identify underground utilities in the downtown area.
The utility improvements in the downtown area will be extensive. For every linear foot of trackway installed, six linear feet of wet utilities, including water, sewer or storm drains, will be removed, relocated or upgraded.
“With the beginning of construction on the South Central Extension/Downtown Hub, we continue our infrastructure investment in the greater Phoenix area,” said Phoenix, Ariz., Mayor Kate Gallego. “We’ve seen how light rail has benefitted people across the Valley, and we can now extend those benefits to new neighborhoods in downtown and South Central Phoenix.”
In addition to improved utilities, the project’s new infrastructure will include dedicated bicycle lanes, 21 new bus pullouts, rebuilt sidewalks, repaved streets and an estimated 160 new trees along the southern portion ofCentral Avenue.Utility work will occur over the next several weeks in the following areas:
• Fifth Street between Washington Street and Jefferson Street
• McKinley Street between Central Avenue and First Avenue
• Central Avenue between Jefferson Street and Lincoln Street
• Washington Street between Central Avenue and First Street
• Central Avenue and Madison Street
“Light rail will ultimately bring great opportunity by providing greater access to our historic community,” said Phoenix Councilmember Michael Nowakowski. “This extension will make the unique offerings of South Phoenix available to others, attracting new customers, businesses and jobs to the area.
Phoenix Councilmember Carlos Garcia added, “It is essential that we remain dedicated to supporting our community and local businesses, working together so that the people of Phoenix thrive during the construction phase and continue to succeed long after it’s completed.”
Stakeholders will be able to download a project-specific app in the coming weeks to receive construction activity notifications, submit a question or comment and view a map of current and upcoming traffic restrictions. The project app will also share construction information with the Waze app so drivers can access traffic restrictions in real-time.
