During recent weeks many motorists in Fountain Hills have likely found themselves dodging barricades and making detours to get around some ongoing street maintenance work.

A pavement sealing project has included the major arterial streets of Grande, El Pueblo and Glenbrook boulevards. La Montana Drive between Palisades and Saguaro boulevards is also being sealed.

There are also several neighborhood streets in this general vicinity that are being treated with a PMRE seal coat. This sealing work was to be completed by early this week.

This project encompasses more than a dozen streets and thousands of square yards of asphalt being sealed. Within the next few weeks, a subcontractor will be restriping the pavement that received the seal coat.

Additionally, in preparation for major pavement rehabilitation in the area that includes Panorama Drive, a contractor has been making curb repairs and installing concrete gutter crossings on streets. Panorama and some other streets in the area are scheduled to have a mill and overlay installed with complete reconstruction in some locations later this year.

Long-term

Staff is in the process of planning significant pavement reconstruction to take place over the next two years. The Town currently has more than $10 million in its Street Fund balance to use for projects to be determined.

In late 2021 the Town appointed an ad-hoc committee of citizens to review the condition of streets in Fountain Hills to make recommendations related to maintenance and pavement restoration priorities, as well as financing options. The committee includes a dozen or so individuals with backgrounds in engineering, finance and public policy.

Their efforts have included a high-tech study of pavement conditions and the variances between pre-incorporation construction and post-incorporation construction. That time demarcation is roughly 1990.

The committee is scheduled to present its final report to the Town Council during a study session on Tuesday, June 20, tentatively at 4 p.m. in council chambers at Town Hall.