By Jason Stone
Mail | X: @thestonecave

The Surprise City Council approved spending $11 million earlier this month to expedite road improvements on traffic-choked 163rd Avenue in north Surprise.

The council unanimously voted Feb. 6 to speed up the work after short-term improvements ADOT recently completed in the area were also fast-tracked from this summer.

The area has been desperate for traffic solutions as more residential and commercial development comes into the neighborhoods. Traffic bottlenecks are typical as there is only one way in and out to the south.

ADOT was able to expediate the short-term improvements thanks to state legislative funding.

In addition to creating another travel lane on Grand Avenue, crews installed a second right turn lanes onto 163rd.

As soon as drivers turn right there, they enter a three-lane road. But after the intersection 163rd merges down to one lane.

Surprise traffic officials told the city council that having two lanes turn onto 163rd before it transitions to one lane is a safety hazard.

The city was able to speed up the work thanks in part to voters passing a general obligation bond in November, which freed up money for the northern area of Surprise.

Because ADOT is speeding up its work, the city wants to do its part to fix the bottleneck that comes out of Grand and onto 163rd Avenue toward Pat Tillman Boulevard.

“Working with ADOT, one of the things we were able to do is, some of those improvements that were being done in that project were advanced,” Boyles told the City Council on Feb. 6.

Surprise traffic officials are working on three separate projects on 163rd simultaneously to reduce the impact to residents in the area.

One stretch is from Grand to Happy Valley Road. Another is from Happy Valley to Desert Moon. Phase 2 of the Jomax Road intersection improvement project is also part of the current fixes.

“I think we’re building this road faster than I’ve ever seen a road built before,” Vice Mayor Nick Haney said at the Feb. 6 council meeting.

Haney serves District 1 where that stretch of improvements are being made.

“We owe it to our residents to uphold our end of the deal and make sure we’re making the improvements necessary to make their lives a little bit easier up there,” Haney said

ADOT’s plans for work this summer include triple left turn lanes off of 163rd Avenue to Grand and an additional travel lane on eastbound Grand.

To create the extra left hand turn, crews will be converting a current right turn lane to left and create a new dedicated right turn lane.

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

Jason Stone
Senior News Editor | Surprise

jstone@iniusa.com

Meet Jason
Jason Stone joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2019, after a distinguished three decade media career that included stops at the Arizona Republic, iHeart Media/Clear Channel and Beckett Sports Card magazine. He remembers when airports sold newspapers.

Community: He is a big supporter of the Valley's original sports team: The Phoenix Suns.

Education: Northern Arizona University with a BS in broadcast journalism and a minor in sports coaching.

Random Fact: The capital of Nebraska is Lincoln.

Hobbies: Surfing, backgammon and men who aren't afraid to cry.