State Route 347 bridge plans available for review April 5

PHOENIX – With work on a State Route 347 bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks in Maricopa set to begin later this year, the public will have another opportunity to review plans at a public meeting on Wednesday, April 5.

The $55 million project includes a bridge over the railroad tracks, a new intersection with Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway and a new alignment just east of the current route.

The meeting will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, at the Maricopa Unified School District board room, 44150 W. Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway, just east of SR 347. An Arizona Department of Transportation presentation will begin at 6 p.m., and the project team will be available to answer questions until about 7:30 p.m.

The bridge is being designed to alleviate railroad-related delays on SR 347, the main highway connecting Maricopa with Interstate 10 and Phoenix. The SR 347/Union Pacific Railroad intersection currently sees 31,000 vehicles and 40-60 trains each day, with projections of more than 60,000 vehicles and as many as 100 trains daily by 2040.

ADOT has been discussing plans for the bridge with the Maricopa community since 2012. After a public hearing in December 2014, ADOT selected a new route for SR 347 and made a slight adjustment to the route in 2016 to improve access, capacity and traffic flow.

Construction is expected to begin later this year and take about two years to complete. It is partially funded through a federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant.

For more information, visit the project website, azdot.gov/347GS.