Tempe updates Mill Avenue streetscape; city targets completion by early next year

Eric Iverson, Tempe’s Transportation and Sustainability Director, and Tara Ford, Public Works Director, told the City Council at a work study session that construction on the Mill Avenue Streetscape between University Drive and Rio Salado Parkway is ongoing and that the city is aiming to finish by the beginning of next year.

The project, Iverson said, began full construction in late summer and started with a major four‑day closure at the Mill and University intersection. "That was the start of the project," he said, adding the intersection work was completed on time and within budget. Iverson described the work as both underground and aboveground: new irrigation and electrical lines, upgraded pavement and ADA ramps, new tree wells and planters, two types of pavers, string lighting, bus shelters and a conceptual gateway over the street.

The update emphasized elements intended to improve the downtown pedestrian…