FLORENCE – Pinal County Public Works says work is continuing on schedule with Phase I improvements to Hunt Highway.

Phase I is a 1.79 mile section of the road from Empire Boulevard to Thompson Road.

The improvements include a five-lane roadway, drainage culverts, completion of an intersection and installation of a traffic signal at Thompson Road.

District 2 Supervisor Cheryl Chase has been keeping up-to-date on the improvements and says she is pleased with the progress.

“This project is a number one priority for me,” Supervisor Chase said. “The Hunt Highway improvements have been in the planning phase since the fall of 2007. This project was hampered with the economic downturn we faced – the money from Development Impact Fees dried up due to lack of new developments. In fact, Hunt Highway was not the only project to be put on hold during that time. The downturn affected projects across the county.”

Due to the lack of funding, Pinal County broke the project up into seven phases. Although work slowed down considerably on the project, there has been an aggressive push to acquire federal funds to help complete all phases of improvements.

“Since 2009, the county has been able to obtain $5.5 million in federal dollars,” Chase explained. “We have joined with Maricopa County and the Town of Queen Creek in order to complete the construction on the corner of Empire and Ellsworth. Since we have the federal money, the Arizona Department of Transportation will complete Phase I at Thompson Road. There is still a lot of background work to do before the shovels hit the dirt.”

On June 2012, Pinal received environmental clearance from the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Environmental Planning Group. Since that time the county has worked to acquire the final rights-of-way, finalizing plans and completing utility relocations.

Once a winning bid for the contractor is selected, construction on Phase I should begin this August. The project is scheduled to take 10 months to complete.

“I am glad there is a light at the end of the tunnel when we are talking about starting a project as significant as the improvement of Hunt Highway,” Chase said. “It’s the first of seven phases, but it’s a big step toward the safety of the people who use this road.”