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Northern Parkway

Project Description
The Northern Parkway is a planned major highway project that extends 12.5 miles from SR 303/Estrella Freeway (Loop 303) to US 60 (Grand Avenue) and will replace Northern Avenue for a portion of this distance. The proposed Northern Parkway will be an enhanced arterial street with grade-separated intersections at major cross streets to eliminate the major traffic signals on Northern Parkway. The resulting roadway would have twice the traffic carrying capacity of a typical arterial and would enable traffic to flow at average speeds of 45 miles per hour (mph) as compared to typical arterials with average speeds between 25mph and 35mph.

Project at a Glance

Lead Agency for DCR	City of Glendale 1-877-203-0042 info@goglendalestreets.com
Project Partners	City of Peoria City of Glendale City of El Mirage Maricopa County
Design Consultant	URS Corporation
Contractor	NA
Project Budget	Estimate is at $477 million (current dollars)
Funding Sources	70% Regional Funds through sales tax and Federal Funds. 30% local match (Peoria, Glendale, El Mirage and Maricopa County. 6% of the $477 million is Peoria's contribution.

NORTHERN PARKWAY ALTERNATIVES

Four Northern Parkway alternatives have been identified for the corridor from Loop 303 to

Grand Avenue (US 60). The alternatives are:

Alternative I - Northern Avenue Alignment, Option I (with two traffic signals)
Alternative 2 - Northern Avenue Alignment Option 2 (no traffic signals)
Alternative 3 - Southern Alignment, and the No Build Alternative
The No Build Alternative

Each of these alternatives are described in the Draft Design Concept Report (DCR) at the bottom of this page.

Proposed Action

Based on the evaluation of the purpose and need (Table 4-1 in the DCR), the evaluation of other

factors listed in Table 4-2, and input from agency partners, stakeholders, and the public, the Northern

Parkway Management Committee has selected Alternative 1 - Northern Avenue Alignment Option 1

(two traffic signals) as described in Sections 4 and 5 of the DCR and as shown in the concept plans

contained in Volume 2 of this report. Alternative 1 is the Proposed Action and some important features

are summarized below:

Alignment

The preferred alignment is along Northern Avenue from Grand Avenue to Dysart Road. Between Dysart

Road and Litchfield Road the alignment transitions northward to the Butler Drive alignment. From

Litchfield Road to Loop 303 the Parkway would follow the Butler alignment.

Design Concept

A wide variety of design concepts have been investigated. Major issues evaluated include the level of

access control and the number of signals.

This alternative includes only two traffic signals; one at 111th Avenue and one at 107^th Avenue; these intersections would provide the only two median breaks. Intersections of major arterials and the

Northern Parkway would be grade separated. Committed levels of access control are as follows:

Full access control between Sarival Road and 115th Avenue
Partial access control between 115th Avenue and 103rd Avenue as well as between 91st Avenue and Grand Avenue
Between 103rd and 91st Avenue, the Parkway would be located on a fully access controlled bypass
Several alternative access roads would be provided to minimize impacts of access control

The ADOT/MCDOT Design Concept Report for Loop 303 defines the design concept for the

connection between Loop 303 and the Northern Parkway.

After Alternative 1 is completed, studies will be undertaken to address any additional improvements that may be needed to meet the needs of neighborhoods and the motoring public.

Phasing

The Northern Parkway Corridor is located in a rapidly developing area. It is recognized that under

current funding commitments completion of Alternative I is more that 20 years off and beyond the

current Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) Regional Transportation Program (RTP) and funding program. In order to ensure effective use of limited resources, it is important that the

Parkway be constructed in meaningful contiguous segments and that right-of-way be protected to

ensure completion of the ultimate facility.

The recommended phasing is Option 2A - West to East Not Accelerated alternative described in

Appendix C of this report. This alternative includes acceleration of the local match funding from

the City of Glendale and MCDOT. Elements of this phasing concept from early to final construction

include:

Interim Parkway construction from Sarival Road to Dysart Road (four lanes) - at-grade signalized intersections for intersecting arterials (future locations of GSI)
Interim throwaway widening from Dysart Road to 112th Avenue (four lanes) - minimal access
control
Ultimate GSI construction at Sarival Road, Reems Road and Litchfield Road - full access control
Interim Parkway and ultimate GSI construction from Dysart Road to the Agua Fria River including GSI at Dysart Road and EI Mirage Road and the interim half Agua Fria River Bridge (four lanes) - full access control
Interim Parkway from the Agua Fria River to 111th Avenue (four lanes plus auxiliary lanes) - partial access control
Ultimate Parkway from 111th Avenue to 103rd Avenue (six lanes plus auxiliary lanes) partial access control
Ultimate Northern Avenue street improvements from 103rd Avenue to Loop 101 (six lanes)
Interim throwaway widening from Loop 101 to 91st Avenue (six lanes)
Interim throwaway intersection improvements at 91st, 83rd, 75th, and Grand Avenues
Other funding sources need to be identified to complete the Parkway concept based on current projected funding. The above listed improvements can be completed within the 20 year funding program.

Project Status
An Inter-governmental Agreement (IGA) was approved by the City of Peoria Mayor and Council at the August 26, 2008 Council Meeting. The IGA has been approved by the City of El Mirage and the City of Glendale.

Design

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