Mesa to begin 15-month Val Vista and Southern reconstruction; sewer, safety upgrades planned

Mesa City Council members discussed plans on May 12 to begin reconstruction at the Val Vista and Southern intersection, a project city staff said combines sewer rehabilitation, underground utility work and roadway safety improvements and is expected to begin in August and last about 15 months.

Council member Spilsner, noting a presentation delivered to the council in recent weeks that identified Val Vista and Southern as the city’s most dangerous intersection, asked staff for a timeline and whether the project marks the start of a larger effort in that corridor.

City staff in engineering said the contract listed on the council agenda covers both the roadwork and sewer work. “This is a little bit like a chess game,” the staff member said, describing the need to sequence the work around other nearby projects. Staff said Greenfield Avenue paving related to the Central Mesa reuse pipeline is wrapping up in the next week to 10 days, and recycled-asphalt paving from Gilbert to Val Vista is scheduled for mid-July to August. When those segments are complete, staff said the city expects to begin work at Val Vista in August.

Staff said the Val Vista work will include replacing or rehabilitating sewer lines, relocating or addressing a gas line and other underground utilities that lengthen the project schedule. At the intersection, engineering plans call for medians, dual left-turn lanes and three lanes in each direction. Staff said the project will put down a base course now and return later to place a finished paving course and that temporary striping will be used during construction.

Because city crews are sequencing multiple arterial projects at once, staff said they are coordinating to avoid restricting traffic on Val Vista and Greenfield simultaneously and that the schedule reflects that constraint. “That is the intent,” the staff member said when asked whether Greenfield would be finished before Val Vista begins.

For outreach, staff told the council it will not necessarily hold a new public meeting before construction; instead, the city typically reinitiates notification through door hangers and mailed notices to adjacent property owners and residents. Council members asked whether additional public outreach would be planned given that community meetings on the project began about two years ago; staff said the design has been finalized for roughly a year to 18 months but that the city will provide construction notices prior to mobilization.

No formal decision on the award was made during the study-session discussion; the staff member said the contract for the work appears on the regular meeting agenda for action. Staff also confirmed the projects are funded but did not specify funding sources or dollar amounts during the discussion.

If the council approves the contract and the schedule holds, construction on Val Vista and Southern is expected to begin in August and continue for approximately 15 months while the city completes underground utility work, roadway reconstruction and the planned safety improvements.