Queen Creek will be reimbursed for intersection improvements

Queen Creek will be able to get reimbursement from the state government for safety improvements at 18 signalized intersections.

At its Dec. 18 meeting, the Queen Creek Town Council unanimously approved an amendment to a joint agency agreement with the Maricopa Association of Governments for a roadside safety project.

The amendment was part of the council’s consent agenda in which all items are approved with one motion and vote. Council members and staff members can remove items from the consent agenda for separate discussions and votes.

Queen Creek now has through Sept. 30, 2025, to ask for more than $50,000 in reimbursement for the safety project, which included the installation of reflective yellow tape on traffic signal heads to provide a contrasting color.

“The Federal Highway Administration recognizes this treatment as a ‘human factors enhancement’ for older and color-vision challenged drivers. For this segment of the driving population, it has been shown to have a 15% decrease in total crashes,” a council staff report stated.

Funding for the roadside safety project comes from ADOT through the Highway User Revenue Fund. Since MAG oversees the project, to receive reimbursement once the work is completed Queen Creek must submit invoices to the association for review and approval.

The council initially approved the agreement with MAG in December 2022. Under the original terms, the work was scheduled to be completed in 2023 with reimbursement available through Sept. 30, 2024.

Under the amended deal, the reimbursement window was pushed back a year to accommodate for the work being concluded in 2024.

“Funding for the design was included in the Public Works Traffic (fiscal year 2023) operational budget and funding for construction was included in the Public Works Traffic (fiscal year 2024) operational budget. This amendment to the JAA allows the town to get reimbursement for expended construction funds,” the report stated.

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org.