sr 77/oracle road multimodal corridor profile study final report - Pima ...

2.4.2 Pinal County Transportation Plan Final Report, 2000 Update, Lima & Associates,
September 2000
This study is a long-range transportation plan for roads of regional significance in Pinal County,
including Interstates 8 and 10, state routes, and major county roads. This project is relevant to
the SR 77 corridor study because it contains access management recommendations by roadway
classification, contains roadway classifications and recommends future projects. The study
involved analyzing existing socioeconomic and transportation conditions, developing and
analyzing future conditions to determine deficiencies and developing a program to identify
transportation projects to correct deficiencies. SR 77 and SR 79 are functionally classified as
minor arterials in the existing (Year 1999) conditions section of the plan. Other routes that are in
the project corridor are classified as follows:
• Saddlebrooke Boulevard – minor collector
• Biosphere Road – minor collector
• American Avenue – major collector
The Transportation Plan for Pinal County consists of a Transit Element and a Street Element.
The Transit Element recommends establishment of a task force to develop and maintain
partnerships among human service providers, major employers, and municipalities. The task
force would begin identifying the most appropriate institutional arrangement for the delivery of
transit services. The Street Element includes a future functional classification system and
recommended cross sections for each classification. SR 77 in Pinal County is classified as minor
arterial in the future plan between SR 79 and Winkelman. SR 77 is classified as principal arterial
between the Pinal County southern boundary and SR 79. SR 79 is classified as a principal
arterial its entire length within Pinal County. The plan includes recommended cross sections
associated with each roadway classifications. Access management recommendations are
provided in the report, including driveway spacing, driveway corner clearance, and driveway
location restrictions. The report also presented level of service estimates assuming three future
population levels. There is one future project within the study area, which is to widen SR 79,
from Oracle Junction to SR 287, to four lanes.
2.4.3 Southern Pinal County Regional Transportation Plan, Entranco, Inc., April 2003
This transportation plan was developed for Southern Pinal County, which includes the area south
of Coolidge, Florence and Kelvin, and east of Casa Grande and Chuichu. Most of the land in
this area is undeveloped. The goal of the project was to determine the mitigation measures
necessary to ensure quality transportation as the region develops. The results of the study
determined that nearly 18,000 new homes would likely be constructed in the Pinal County
region, increasing population by nearly 55,000 persons. Adding to this residential development
are more than 13,000 jobs. New development throughout the county could increase traffic by
more than 60 percent over the next 20 years. One improvement was recommended within the
study area, which is to widen SR 77, from SR 79 to Reddington Road from two to four lanes.
Traffic volumes are anticipated to increase from 12,500 vpd to 16,400 vpd.
SR 77/Oracle Road Multimodal Corridor Profile Study May 2007
Final Report Page 2-14