It has been nine months since voters approved an $8.2 million bond to fund the reconstruction of Saguaro Boulevard, and now the design work is roughly 60 percent complete and on track for construction to begin early in 2015.

The engineering consulting firm Kimley-Horn hosted a public open house July 29, with about a dozen residents turning out to review the plan and ask questions.

The plan shows information about drainage improvements, the reconfiguration of the intersection at Saguaro and Avenue of the Fountains and anticipated projects separate from the reconstruction.

Details regarding where work will begin and how traffic will be managed during construction will be addressed by the yet-to-be-named contractor, according to town Development Services Director Paul Mood.

“We don’t want to try and tell the contractor how to do the job,” Mood said. “That usually doesn’t work well.”

The project’s construction contractor will not be on board until near the end of the year. Kimley-Horne is expected to complete the design work by the end of August, allowing nearly four months for the bid process.

There is significant drainage work for the intersection of Saguaro and Palisades boulevards. Four new catch basins will be installed leading to a 48-inch storm sewer under the pavement. That line will connect to an existing line along Panorama Drive just east of Saguaro.

Drainage issues near the south end of the project adjacent to the Desert Canyon Golf Club are also being addressed. Four new culverts will be installed along Saguaro between Palmer Way and Ledferd Lane to improve runoff in that area where there is significant flooding during storms.

One future project that appears will be well coordinated with the Saguaro work is the construction of a box culvert under Saguaro at Ashbrook Wash. This project is being coordinated and designed by the Maricopa County Flood Control District.

Mood said the district appears to be on track to construct the culvert at about the same time Saguaro is being done. He added that even if the timing is off there would be no significant issues related to the Saguaro work.

There are future plans for a 16-inch sewer line under Saguaro Boulevard, but that work will not be coordinated with this project.

Mood said the need for the line is related to the potential development of the former State Trust Land at the north end of Fountain Hills.

Since there is no known timetable for development of that property, the line will not be installed until there is a need, possibly five years or more away.

At Saguaro and Avenue of the Fountains the existing three-way stop control will remain, however, there will be modifications to make the intersection more pedestrian safe.

The curbing for all three medians that meet at the intersection will be extended farther out into the existing lanes. The medians on Saguaro will include safe areas for pedestrians to wait for traffic.

A new water feature and landscaping will be installed on the lower end of the Avenue median. This is to be done during the Saguaro construction and not part of the current median improvement project.

At the intersection of Saguaro and Palisades the traffic signals will all be replaced to update the existing outmoded equipment.

It is anticipated that the construction phase of the Saguaro work will take nine months, roughly until late September 2015, nearly two years after the bond approval vote.