Sups OK change to ASH connector agreement

Yuma County has given more formal support to Avenue 3E as the connector route between Highway 95 and the Area Service Highway.

The Yuma County Board of Supervisors voted Monday to sign on to an amendment to the intergovernmental agreement with the Arizona Department of Transportation along with the municipalities of Yuma, San Luis and Wellton and the Cocopah Tribe. It asks the state to secure the funding needed to improve Avenue 3E from Interstate 8 to Highway 95, and Highway 95 from Avenue 3E and Araby Road, along with improvements at I-8 and Giss Parkway and the I-8 and Araby Road interchange.

A study initiated by ADOT in 2007 sought to evaluate corridor alternatives for the connection of the Area Service Highway, or SR 195, from I-8 to Highway 95. The supervisors approved a resolution in 2010 supporting Avenue 3E as the preferred connection route over Araby Road, which was also considered. The city of Yuma and the Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization also prefer Avenue 3E as the connector.

The county will chip in about $24,000 for the preliminary engineering and right-of-way acquisition for the Avenue 3E and Highway 95 projects. The city's contribution for these projects will come out to roughly $250,000.

In other action Monday, the board gave the green light to a few smaller traffic flow adjustments.

Those include moving the stop sign on the southbound side of Del Vista Drive to the westbound side of Calle Vista in the Mesa Del Sol area; raising the speed limit on Fortuna Road between city 28th and city 24th streets to 45 mph; raising the speed limit on city 28th Street between Fortuna Road and Camino Del Sol to 30 mph; and erecting signage to show no on-street parking on the soon-to-be completed reconstruction of Avenue C between 8th Street and Figueroa Avenue.

The supervisors also issued several proclamations, commemorating Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October), National 4-H Week (Oct. 7-13), Cyber Security Awareness Month (October), Red Ribbon Week (Oct. 23-31) and National School Bus Safety Week (Oct. 15-19).

Hillary Davis can be reached at hdavis@yumasun.com or 539-6857.