A message from Town of Marana Engineer Keith Brann, originally published by Tucson Local Media.

The Town of Marana Engineering Department has been wrapping up existing projects around the region in anticipation of new projects scheduled for construction in 2021. Each fiscal year, the Town performs both minor and major pavement preservation on the Town’s roads. Fall of 2020 saw the completion of various subdivision streets, and in the spring of 2021, residents can expect to see major treatments of various collector and arterial roadways.

One of our largest projects completed in 2020 was the Adonis Subdivision Drainage Improvement Project, which rebuilt the streets of one of Marana’s oldest colonia subdivisions. The Adonis subdivision predates Town incorporation and did not have adequate drainage across the subdivision. This led to ponding problems after rain events. The streets have been rebuilt, adding valley gutters to reduce ponding. The Town’s Utilities Department also recently completed a project to rehabilitate the sanitary sewers of this subdivision with a new lift station to treat sewage at the Town’s wastewater treatment plant, closing the previously used lagoon system.

Also near the Adonis subdivision, the Engineering Department is constructing the Adonis Road extension through a partnership with a local developer. This project will be completed in the spring and will connect Adonis Road from its current terminus near the Marana Interchange to Tangerine Road. This project fulfills a Town Council objective to provide a secondary access to the interstate for the San Lucas, Adonis, and Marana Estates residents.

You may have noticed recent construction on Avra Valley Road from Sanders Road to the western town limits in recent months. Phase two of the reconstruction of Avra Valley Road is now complete, thanks in part to revenue from the Marana Regional Landfill.

In northeast Marana, the Engineering Department is continuing the reconstruction of Camino de Oeste north of Tangerine Road. This project will provide a shared use path on its west side and make improvements to Moore Road’s shoulders near its intersection with Camino de Oeste. Also in the northeast, the Town recently completed a sidewalk infill project on Tortolita Road.

Several projects that spent 2020 in the design phase will be moving to construction in 2021. First, Lon Adams Road from Barnett Road to Grier Road will be reconstructed, which will also upgrade Lon Adams Road into a suburban collector with curbs, storm sewers, sidewalks, and lighting.

A pedestrian “HAWK” signal is set to be installed at Gladden Farms Drive and Tangerine Farms Road. This pedestrian signal will improve crossing safety between the Gladden Farms Elementary School and Marana Heritage River Park, similar to existing pedestrian signals at Coyote Trails Elementary and Crossroads at Silverbell District Park.You may have noticed recent construction on Avra Valley Road from Sanders Road to the western town limits in recent months. Phase two of the reconstruction of Avra Valley Road is now complete, thanks in part to revenue from the Marana Regional Landfill.

The Town will be installing another traffic signal at the intersection of Twin Peaks Road and Sandario Road. This intersection experiences significant delays during peak hours related to the Marana High School traffic, and the installation of a signal will help alleviate traffic during those times.

For those looking to get outdoors more often, the Town has been designing and acquiring the property rights to complete the Santa Cruz River shared use path between Avra Valley Road and the Gladden Farms Community. This has been a difficult project design for pedestrian, cyclist, and mining operational safety, but the project design is nearing completion and should go to construction in 2021. When completed, northwest Marana will be connected to the regional loop trail system.

And right here in our backyard, the Engineering Department is managing a minor expansion of the Marana Municipal Courts building. This expansion will provide a jury assembly room that will have multi-use capability, giving our residents who serve jury duty an upgraded space.

There is much to be excited for as we progress these projects into 2021. To view more information on any of the above-mentioned work and track their progress, please visit our Current Projects page at maranaaz.gov/projectinfo.