October 20, 2004
Fountain Hills will add bicycle lanes to a 2 1 /2-half mile stretch of Shea Boulevard next month, connecting it with bike lanes at Saguaro and Palisades boulevards and eventually lanes in neighboring Scottsdale.
The state Transportation Board on Friday approved awarding a $537,785 contract to Combs Construction of Glendale for the 5-footwide lanes, said Doug Nintzel, an Arizona Department of Transportation spokesman.
"The work primarily will consist of construction of bicycle lanes, median curbs and landscaping," Nintzel said.
Work is scheduled to begin in November and is planned for completion in early 2005, Nintzel said.
Officials could not say whether there would be traffic restrictions.
The town’s general plan calls for adding bike lanes as certain areas approach build-out, including homes being built along Shea, said Fountain Hills Mayor Wally Nichols.
Nichols said the lanes will accommodate bicyclists such as the 500 who rode through town in last weekend’s Tour de Scottsdale.
The cyclists used Rio Verde Drive and Fountain Hills, Saguaro and Shea boulevards on a 67-mile course that also included Scottsdale, Phoenix, Cave Creek and Carefree, Nichols said.
Nichols said Fountain Hills is committed to promoting exercise for residents. "Arizona has such a beautiful environment, and we want people to be out in it, enjoying it."
The project, estimated by the town engineer to cost $645,342, includes the $537,785 project bid, $80,668 in ADOT charges for engineering services and a $26,889 construction contingency charge.
Sixty-eight percent of the project’s funding comes from federal funds, while 32 percent will be covered by the town, Nintzel said.
