Pinal Today

The City of Maricopa has broken ground on the first part of the Sonoran Desert Parkway, which officials hope will become a major transportation corridor in Arizona.

Once known as the East-West Corridor, The Sonoran Desert Parkway is slated to merge with the John Wayne Parkway south of Maricopa to Interstate 10, providing easier access to the Valley. Officials broke ground on the project on June 13.

“This is going to be an absolutely key and critical project for us as a city as we continue to expand,” said Mayor Christian Price said, in a story by InMaricopa. 

The initial 1.6-mile stretch between John Wayne Parkway and Porter Road eventually will link SR 347 to Interstate 10, officials said, incorporating part of the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway. The four-lane parkway could eventually be expanded to six lanes.

The project is one of many ways Maricopa is preparing for growth, he added.

“Look, at the end of the day, folks, the growth is coming, it doesn’t matter which way you slice it,” Price said. “There’s opportunity here and with Ak-Chin and the City of Maricopa working in partnership, there’s a lot of great things ahead. From tourism and people visiting, to the fact that people love what they find and love what they see when they come here, and so this is one of those major steps that’s been in the works for a very long time.”

The section of the project will include the addition of a bridge as a flood-control measure. The process should take about 14 months to complete, Public Works Director Mike Riggs said.

“The road will feature a four-lane bridge over Porter Road and the (Santa Rosa) wash,” Riggs said. “From Porter Road up to highway 347 will be a four-lane parkway, which is a 200-foot-wide roadway. In addition, there could be third lane in both directions, so it could be six lanes as soon as traffic deems it necessary.”

With the Santa Cruz Ranch project coming near Stanfield, residents in the south part of the city will need easier access to the Valley rather than going through Maricopa on John Wayne Parkway.

“They can go whatever it is, 4-5 miles out to I-10 and then it’s an easy drive into the Valley, especially to the southeast Valley,” said Greg Davis, the president of Chandler’s Iplan Consulting. “The 347 is more of a direct shot for most of Maricopa but you already have traffic congestion on that road.”

The project makes sense, Davis said.

“I don’t think many developers are counting on I-11, it’s just too far down the road,” he added. “They are counting more on existing infrastructure. Our clients are also excited by the city’s commitment to extend its transportation to the south once that land is annexed. The East-West highway is also big because we know that it is funded, or at least large sections of it. We have confidence that’s going to happen sooner rather than later – more confidence than in improvements to the 347 or the I-11 coming, at least in the short term.”

The parkway is also proof that Maricopa is adapting to growth in the best way possible, Price said.

“I hope this is something that the people can see and feel and touch,” he said. “And that they can understand that their dollars are going toward something that is profitable to them, and that will help their businesses and their commutes and everything else. So again, this is the first step, and we’re very appreciative for it, and for all the folks who did the engineering, the planning, the funding, and all the things that have gone into it.”