Maricopa is seeking contractors to widen nearly 2 miles of State Route 238, with a request for quotations posted Monday morning.

The request comes three months after Maricopa City Council unanimously approved a contract to purchase more than 2 acres along the corridor.

The city is seeking a firm that can widen the highway in both directions.

City spokesperson Monica Williams said the request is “the next step in moving the project forward. The goal of this process is to identify the contractor best suited to complete the work.”

The project calls for:

• Adding one lane in each direction beginning approximately 500 feet west of the State Route 347 and Smith-Enke Road intersection and extending 1.89 miles west.
• Provide pavement reconstruction for the westernmost 2,000 feet of the project limits, maintaining the existing roadway width.
• Constructing curb and gutter, and sidewalks.
• Installing traffic signals at the Bashas’ and Loma Road intersections with SR 238. Installing future traffic signals at the Roosevelt Road and Green Road intersections.
• Installing drainage channels throughout the project corridor.
• Coordination with various state and private entities and stakeholders for MSIDD canal abandoning, acquiring Right of Way, drainage easements and temporary construction easements.
• Undergrounding electrical lines, including joint trench coordination with dry utility companies.
• Coordinating with various utility companies to address and resolve potential utility conflicts. Coordinating with ED3 regarding substation installation.

The deadline for submitting proposals is April 30 at 2 p.m.

Additional details about the project’s timeline and the city’s next moves will be announced after proposals are evaluated, Williams said.

Long-planned project gains traction

Plans for widening SR 238 have been sitting on the backburner for several years after reaching an agreement with the Arizona Department of Transportation to take control of the portion of highway depicted in the map above. In recent months, that move has gained steam.

In December, city council members unanimously approved a roughly $197,000 sale of 2.26 acres along the southern edge of SR 238 between Green Road and the Ak-Chin Indian Community boundary.

And during a futures planning meeting, City Manager Ben Bitter provided a brief design update, which will also include roundabouts for traffic onto Green Road and Moonlight Drive.

“We’ll see some improved traffic flow along that area and, again, where you’re putting in new road, you’ll see greater economic development,” he said during the January meeting.