Miller Road - Pinnacle Peak Road to Happy Valley Road
Project Update
Construction work is underway on the completion of Miller Road between Pinnacle Peak Road and Happy Valley Road, including a bridge over the Rawhide Wash. The project is scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2024.
The first of two concrete pours for the Miller Road bridge deck will start at 9 p.m. Friday, April 12. Work will take place overnight and continue through Saturday, April 13. The overnight shift is crucial to maintain the quality of the concrete and accommodate temperature changes. Crews will strive to keep noise and light disruptions to a minimum. The second concrete pour has not been scheduled but will also require nighttime work.
The Miller Road work will be performed by Hunter Contracting. In general work will take place between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Occasional weekend work and night time work may be required. Utility work took place earlier this year and a County Flood Control Project in the area is also underway.
We understand that many of you enjoy the open space in the wash, for your safety please stay out of the construction zone.
For up to date project status on construction activity, please visit the contractor's Miller Road Construction Website.
Project Summary
This project will connect Miller Road between Pinnacle Peak Road and Happy Valley Road, including a bridge over the Rawhide Wash. Completing this connection will create a new option for north/south travel beyond Scottsdale and Pima roads and provide a direct connection to the Hayden Road/Loop 101 interchange. The new segment of roadway will include two lanes of travel in each direction, bike lanes, and detached sidewalks with landscaped buffers on either side of the street.
Project History
City plans for connecting Miller Road between Pinnacle Peak and Happy Valley have been in place since at least 1991, when the roadway was included in the Circulation Element of the 1991 General Plan. The roadway was mapped to extend as far north as Dynamite Boulevard. The planned alignment moves northeasterly from the intersection of Miller Road/Happy Valley Road until it matches up with the Hayden Road (80th Street) alignment at Jomax Road.
The planned extension of Miller Road north of Pinnacle Peak Road was also included in the City Council-adopted 2008 Transportation Master Plan and the Council-adopted 2016 Transportation Master Plan. These long-time plans for Miller Road are the reason that the developer of the Pinnacle Reserve subdivision constructed a four-lane roadway from Parkview Lane to Happy Valley Road in 1997. These same plans are the reason that the new Paseo at Pinnacle Peak subdivision has recently widened Miller Road to four lanes between Pinnacle Peak Road and Adele Court.
In addition to the Council-approved planning documents discussed above, signage near the south and north banks of the Miller Road/Rawhide Wash intersection indicating the future connection of Miller Road between Pinnacle Peak and Happy Valley Roads has been in place for over 3 years. The City Council approved funding to initiate work on the connection of Miller Road across the Rawhide Wash. The funding package includes a 70 percent contribution from the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) through their Arterial Life Cycle Program which focuses on regionally significant roadway corridors.
Community Outreach
View the materials provided at the public meeting which took place in the spring of 2021:
Roadway Cross-section at Parkview Lane
Roadway Cross-section at Mariposa Grande
This project was planned for and approved in the Transportation Master Plan and the City’s General Plan. Community outreach was conducted during the design process and the final design was approved by the Transportation Commission, Planning Commission, Design Review Board and City Council.
Tentative Project Schedule
| Winter 2020 | Design Work Begins |
| Feb & March 2021 | Investigative Site Work |
| Spring & Summer 2021 | Community Outreach & Public Hearing Process |
| Winter 2021 | Utility Design Work Complete |
| Late Fall 2021 | Utility Relocation Begins & Finalize Bridge Design |
| Fall 2024 | Construction Complete |
Frequently Asked Questions
The project is part of the Transportation Master Plan and will be funded by the Regional Sales Tax (Arterial Life Cycle Program) and Scottsdale’s Transportation 0.1% Sales Tax.
The decision to install the Miller Road Bridge at Rawhide Wash was part of the City’s approved Transportation Master Plan and has been included in City planning documents since 1991.
There were several opportunities for public involvement throughout the design and public hearing process. Ultimatley, this project was approved by the Transportation Commission, Design Review Board, Planning Commission and City Council.
Because Miller Road is not connected cross Rawhide Wash, the City has not been counting traffic as it does on most collector and arterial roadways. The 2040 travel demand forecast from the Maricopa Association of Governments for this new one-mile segment ranges from 22,000 vehicles per day near Pinnacle Peak Road to 17,500 vehicles per day near Happy Valley Road.
The city conducted a full noise study within the project limits. Noise levels were gathered to calibrate the model and existing and proposed traffic volumes were used to predict the noise levels that will occur after the project is constructed. Based on the results of the noise study, no mitigation measures were recommended.
This project will include a landscape package to revegetate the areas around the bridge after construction. The project team will present potential landscaping options during the public process and welcomes input from the community. Although landscaping will be part of this project, the project team will be making every effort to salvage and revegetate the project area as much as feasible.
Any construction project may have impacts to wildlife. The project team will be designing the bridge to accommodate safe passage of wildlife and the design will foster a more natural travel way for wildlife.
Four travel lanes will be designed and constructed to match the existing four lanes previously constructed by the adjacent developments.
The project will include detached sidewalks on both sides of Miller Road.
It is anticipated that the speed limit will be set at 35 mph and will continue to be evaluated over time by the Traffic Engineering Section.
During winter hours (Nov. 1 - Mar. 31), allowable construction work hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and during summer hours (Apr. 1 - Oct. 31) allowable hours are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The city may grant variances for the contractor to work outside these hours; however, variances are not granted solely for the contractor or project convenience, and should be fully justified (e.g., pouring concrete during early morning hours for concrete to cure properly or planned water outages during night hours to minimize the impact to residents).
Project Information
Budget: $14.2 million
Sponsoring Division: Transportation
Funding Source: Maricopa Association of Governments’ Arterial Life Cycle Program (70%) and Transportation 0.1% sales tax (30%)
Project Location: Miller Road Alignment from Adele Court (600’ north of Pinnacle Peak Road) and Parkview Lane (1,900’ south of Happy Valley Road).