A series of waterline developments and repairs will restrict traffic in Tempe for the rest of the academic year.
The downtown waterline will be under construction until late December.
Ron Coleman, management assistant to the City of Tempe Water Utilities department, said the purpose of the project is to expand waterlines to better serve the city and the University.
“[The project] replaces aging lines and allows for additional growth,” Coleman said.
The project has restricted traffic to one lane on East Fifth Street from South Myrtle Avenue to South Forest Avenue since Oct. 17, and the restrictions will continue until the completion of the project, tentatively scheduled for Dec. 28, Coleman said. He suggested University Drive as an alternative route.
Coleman said construction workers are working on the lines on South Forest Avenue between East Sixth and East Seventh streets and will continue going north. He suggested College Avenue or Rural Road as alternatives.
Another major waterline project will severely restrict traffic to one lane in each direction on Rio Salado Drive in Tempe from January to May 2009, City of Phoenix Water Services Superintendent Aimee Conroy said.
Conroy said the City of Phoenix’s repairs of the Val Vista waterline will restrict traffic to one lane in each direction on E. Rio Salado Parkway at S. McClintock Avenue and South Siesta Lane.
Conroy said the project is necessary to repair pipes in the waterline that have severely deteriorated since its completion in 1975. The line does not serve the City of Tempe, but Conroy said the city has been supportive in Phoenix’s efforts to repair it.
“They’ve been very helpful and very cooperative,” Conroy said.
Tempe commuters should avoid Rio Salado Parkway during construction early next year, Conroy said, but the two cities were working together to ease the burden on drivers.
“We’ll do our best to keep traffic at a minimum and keep everyone safe,” she said.
City of Tempe Assistant Manager Jeff Kulaga said he did not expect construction to affect Orbit bus service to and from Tempe Marketplace.
“We’re going to see how it plays out,” Kulaga said. “We may end up having to detour [the buses], but for now, we’ll use the same route.”
Kulaga suggested University Drive, Loop 202 or the light rail as possible alternatives to Rio Salado Parkway.
City of Phoenix spokesman Jon Brodsky said with the completion of the light-rail line, there are currently no construction projects around the University’s Downtown campus likely to interfere with traffic.
Spokespeople from the West and Polytechnic campuses said there are no construction projects around either campus that will significantly affect traffic.
Reach the reporter at derek.quizon@asu.edu.
