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Design team: SmartScale funds secured; right‑of‑way acquisition and two‑year construction estimate
Summary
Applicant told the UDC the Chaco Valley Streets project is largely SmartScale funded (about $33 million), with an estimated total near $50 million; the design team said right‑of‑way acquisition will begin this year and roadway construction is expected to take about two years once property acquisition and utility work are completed.
Project consultants told the committee the Chaco Valley Streets project has competing constraints: federal and state environmental reviews (NEPA/Section 106) and tight funding timelines shaped current design choices. "This project was scored based on safety and other factors, which was the reason why we were selected for the funding," Lamont Benjamin, Capital Projects Administrator (Speaker 8), said when introducing the consultant team.
Owen Perry (Speaker 9) said SmartScale supplied a large portion of the funding: "Smart scale was a big portion of this, $33,000,000," and added that the applicant's budget estimate from about a year ago was roughly $50,000,000 (he cautioned the number likely rose since). He described the schedule: finish NEPA documentation late summer/early fall, begin right‑of‑way acquisition this year (a process that can take ~2 years), and a roughly two‑year construction phase once property and utility relocations are complete.
Applicants and staff warned that moving major elements of the plan (e.g., shifting the main circle footprint) could trigger additional property takings, delay the acquisition schedule and risk funding. The committee weighed those timing and funding constraints against urban‑design objections when forming its recommendation.
