3E will remain open as city reschedules widening project

A road maintenance project that would have closed part of Avenue 3E starting Monday has been put on hold in favor of moving up the scheduled widening of the roadway, city officials said.

Street maintenance crews may still perform minor repairs of numerous potholes and cracks in 3E between 32nd and 24th streets next week, but motorists will be able to travel along that stretch of the road, city officials said.

The city originally planned more extensive maintenance that would have closed the road, but city officials late this week decided to instead incorporate it as part of planned widening of 3E, city spokesman Dave Nash said.

The city arrived at the decision after concluding it would be more cost-effective to advance the start date of the widening project and lump in the maintenance work with it, he said.

The $8.3 million widening project, which has been in the city's Capital Improvement Program since 2004, could begin as soon as late summer, depending on when plans for the project get required approval from the Arizona Department of Transporta- tion, Federal Highway Administration and Union Pacific Railroad, city officials said.

Those agencies' approvals are needed since 3E passes over railroad tracks and beneath Interstate 8.

The widening would be split into two phases: five lanes between 24th and 32nd and seven lanes between 24th and Gila Ridge Road, according to Paul Brooberg, director of city engineering.

The work would also involve rebuilding the bridge over the railroad tracks.

City officials hope to begin work on the second phase of the project next April.

Money for the widening comes mainly from $6.1 million in state funds, with the balance coming from city road tax revenue and bond financing, city officials said.