SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) — The city of Sierra Vista is spending about $1.2 million on annual street maintenance projects before monsoon season, and drivers need to know where to expect closures and detours.
Coronado Drive is currently closed at Avenida Cochise and Goldstone Street while crews work on about 9 patches along the road.
Angela Dixon-Maher, senior civil engineer for the city of Sierra Vista, said the repairs were urgently needed.
"What we started to have were some really extreme dips in the road, and it was causing a really rough ride," Dixon-Maher said.
Most of the patches are concentrated in one section of the road, and the closure is intentional to speed up the work.
"This particular street is an arterial, so a lot of people use it, and we were receiving, you know, a lot of citizen concern about it," Dixon-Maher said.
The city weighed its options carefully when deciding how to approach the repairs.
"We didn't want to have a lot of small patches, but at the same time, if we replaced entire lanes, we would have went out of budget," Dixon-Maher said.
Closing the road entirely has allowed crews to work more efficiently.
"The reason we closed it down is because we can get the construction done in half the time," Dixon-Maher said.
About two weeks of construction and closures remain. The next section of work is set to begin Tuesday.
Dixon-Maher said the short-term inconvenience will be worth it in the long run.
"If the public can put up with, you know, a little bit of heartache and pain. Now we'll have a nice smooth road to travel on for the next five to 10 years," Dixon-Maher said.
The current detour routes drivers through Silverado Drive, a residential neighborhood that has seen an increase in traffic. A resident there, who spoke off camera, expressed concern about speeding in the area.
Dixon-Maher urged drivers to avoid the area if possible.
"Try to avoid the area unless your destination is in one of the subdivisions adjacent to Coronado," Dixon-Maher said.
She recommends using Buffalo Soldier Trail or Avineda Cochise as alternate routes around the closure.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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