3/7/2005 5:22:00 PM Supervisors want input on county road repairs
PRESCOTT Neither rain nor snow will significantly sidetrack needed improvements to Williamson Valley Road.
Despite a wet winter that has wrecked havoc on county roads, County Supervisor Carol Springer said the Williamson Valley Road improvement project should move forward with little delay.
Springer will attend a public meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Yavapai County Administrative Services Building on Fair Street to get public opinion on an improvement plan for a roughly seven-mile stretch of the road from Pioneer Parkway to Outer Loop Road.
Its a big project and really its a project that were going to have to fund over four or five years, Springer said. It may be pushed back a few months, but I think well be able to handle it.
Springer said work is still needed on the road.
Were going to have to do more temporary work than we thought, he said.
Representatives from Civiltec Engineering and the county will offer information on the project.
At a study session this past week, supervisors learned winter storm damage to county roads is nearly $7.5 million and could rise.
After the study session, Supervisor Chip Davis said the county might need to review its road project priority list to cover repair costs.
Davis said the county borrows from the regional road fund and HURF fund to pay for road projects.
We may have to bring a little bit of regional roads in like for the Williamson Valley project and move some of those 5-year regional road plans back a little bit, he said. Just reprioritize. Just figure out whats number one.
Public Works Director Richard Straub told supervisors at the study session that roughly five miles of Williamson Valley Road is a series of potholes. Straub said repairs could cost about $300,000.
Phil Bourdon, assistant director of Public Works, said deteriorating pavement and a large amount of traffic has prompted the department to move forward with the project.
We knew we needed to go out there and do work and now were seeing that its an immediate concern, Bourdon said.
The project will hit the road in the countys 2005-06 fiscal year, according to Bourdon, who said his office would work with supervisors to review all road improvement projects.
I think public works is going to tell the board that this is a high priority, he said.
The public had its first opportunity to comment on the improvement plan in October.
About 8,000 cars per day travel through the intersection of Pioneer Parkway and Williamson Valley Road, according to Bourdon, who said another 2,000 to 3,000 vehicles per day use the intersection of Outer Loop Road and Williamson Valley Road.
Springer said the road has no passing lanes and accidents are waiting to happen.
Its kind of a priority with me, she said. I think that well try to get it as quickly as we can.
