$300K pavement work planned in Apache Junction industrial park

By Richard Dyer
Mail | X: @RHDyer

Cape and slurry seal work costing more then $300,000 could begin as soon as March 2026 on sections of streets east of Winchester Road between U.S. Highway 60 and Baseline Road in Apache Junction.

The Apache Junction City Council on Oct. 21 voted unanimously to approve a consent agenda with other items that included awarding a contract to M.R. Tanner Construction for pavement preservation work. It is through a city of Buckeye cooperative job order contract for $272,753.75 plus a 10% contingency for unforeseen change orders in the amount of $27,275.37 for a total project cost not to exceed $300,029.12.

According to the website of the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration:

• A cape seal is a thin surface treatment constructed by applying a slurry seal or microsurfacing to a newly constructed chip seal. It is designed to be an integrated system where the primary purpose of the slurry is to fill voids in the chip seal.
• Slurry seals involve spraying a mixture of slow setting emulsified asphalt, well graded fine aggregate, mineral filler and water on the pavement surface. It is used to fill cracks and seal areas of old pavement, to restore a uniform surface texture, to seal the surface to prevent moisture and air intrusion into the pavement, and to improve skid resistance.

Work is planned on sections of 34th, 26th, 37th, 38th and 39th avenues as well as Colt, South De Niza and Padre roads, according to a city of Apache Junction document.

The work will last for about two weeks within the March to May 2026 time frame, Public Works Deputy Director Shane Kiesow wrote in a memo to the council.

“The work involves the application of a cape seal to a portion of Winchester Road and slurry seal to streets within the industrial park,” he said. “Work would occur during the daytime hours characterized by single street lane closures and intermittent disruptions to business entrances as the street maintenance moves along within the respective work areas. This work will not result in any full street closures.”

The project is budgeted for this fiscal year through city sales tax monies dedicated for the purpose of street maintenance. Kiesow said.

Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines, https://www.yourvalley.net/civility-checklist/.

Richard Dyer
Managing Editor | East Valley

rdyer@iniusa.org

Meet Richard
Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.  

Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions. 

Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.

Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.

Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.