http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0410phxunderpass0410.html

City to spend $6 million on an underpass

Ginger D. Richardson The Arizona Republic Apr. 10, 2006 12:00 AM

EAST PHOENIX - The City Council has agreed to spend $6 million with a Gilbert-based firm to build a pedestrian underpass in the busy Camelback corridor.

The deal with Hunter Contracting marks a sharp increase in the project's overall cost; earlier estimates had put the price tag at $3.3 million.

Construction could start later this month.

The underpass is slated to run under Camelback Road, between 24th and 26th streets. The city has estimated that more than 2,000 pedestrians cross near the intersection every day. As many as 20 percent of those pedestrians don't use the signaled crosswalk, officials believe.

The project, which was initially considered to promote pedestrian activity in the busy corridor, took on a much higher profile in December 2004 when 13-year-old Brissa Espinoza was killed crossing the street mid-block.

Police said the driver was intoxicated at the time of the accident.

When complete, the underpass will be about 83 feet long, 9 feet high and 28 feet wide, and its construction will require a section of Camelback Road to be raised about six feet.

The city will install security lighting and other features to ensure that the underpass will be safe for those who use it.

Camelback Road will remain open and access to businesses will be maintained while construction is under way, the city said.

The project will take about one year to complete.

Reach the reporter at ginger .richardson@arizonarepublic .com