With the design schedule currently six months behind its original target, the Town of Florence and Pinal County are moving to ensure the final segment of multi-phase project to widen Hunt Highway gets underway by next summer.
A Feb. 10 work session between the Florence Town Council and Planning and Zoning Commission discussed statuses, challenges and solutions for widening the road into Florence.
Pinal has spent more than $100M improving other portions of Hunt Highway, and County officials say the remaining $40M section is a priority.
Florence and the County entered into an agreement in May 2023 to share design costs to widen the road to five lanes from Magma Road to Anthem. Design for Florence’s portion is 90% complete, while Pinal’s is 60% complete.
Pinal’s section is behind schedule because it includes a Union Pacific Railroad crossing and the Gila River Indian Community. Acquiring right-of-way from GRIC has proven challenging, according to officials, and the Pinal County Board of Supervisors has told County staff to instead work with the Arizona State Land Department.
Moving the alignment onto State land will add approximately half a mile to the project’s length.
The estimated costs, reported as $35M for the County and $5.5M for Florence, do not include costs to acquire State land.
Construction on the 5.5-mile project is expected to begin in summer 2026 and take two years to complete. It has not yet been decided if the County or Florence portion will begin first, or if the two will be built simultaneously. Pinal has said, however, it would like all bid requests put out at the same time. (Source)