Verrado 411

Many Verrado residents were recently made aware of the news that I-10 would be expanded by one additional lane on each side of the highway from about the 303 interchange to State Route 85 to begin sometime in the next year. Given the mayhem caused by the recent I-10 expansion from Verrado Way to Route 85 over the past 2 years, members of Verrado Community Pride (VCP) requested a meeting with the Mayor of Buckeye, Eric Orsborn and key City staff to gain a better understanding as to how the planned I-10 new construction project would impact Verrado residents.

The Mayor and staff conveyed that the new project will not have near the same impacts on residents as the last project. This is because the expansion of the additional lane will come from the use of the inside lane nearest the median with a repainting of the other three lanes. The City believes the impact will be for a much shorter time frame and they will maximize the use of nights and weekends to complete the work and to work on the highway on shorter stretches at a time to minimize traffic impacts. The bridge over Jackrabbit Trail may have to be totally reconstructed which may require the use of a temporary by-pass bridge.

The City has been working with Goodyear and the County to have traffic lights installed at all key intersections on Indian School and also plans to have a light installed at the intersection of Thomas and Jackrabbit Trail. The City also plans to extend McDowell Road from Verrado Way to Jackrabbit Trail once DMB completes its portion through the area of Marketside East. The City is also evaluating the widening of Indian School Road between Perryville and Jackrabbit Trail and the issues involved with developing another route from the north end of Jackrabbit Trail over to route 303.

Residents should be aware that with the buildout of Verrado and surrounding planned developments within a 2-3 mile circle of the Fry’s shopping marketplace that the population will double in the next 10 years. It is important for the City of Buckeye to be a partner with the affected Verrado area communities to address the significant upcoming growth issues – a role which the Mayor and staff not only recognize but are “all-in” on.

Submitted by Verrado Community Pride. For information on VCP, you can contact co-chair Ray Clarke at raymondtclarke@yahoo.com or Peter O’Grady at pogrady@aol.com