Pinal County officials presented San Tan Valley infrastructure projects to the town council on January 21. The presentation covered completed work, active construction, and planned improvements.
San Tan Valley incorporated in 2025 and is expected to assume municipal control on July 1, 2026. Many projects will become the town’s responsibility at that time. The county is working to complete current projects before the transition.
Road Projects Before the Transition
Pinal County Deputy Director of Public Works Celeste Garza detailed active construction efforts.
“We’re gonna do our best to get those done before then,” Garza told the council.
Major county investments over 20 years include the Gantzel/Ironwood Road widening ($65 million, 2006) and Hunt Highway widening with the Gantzel/Judd Road connection ($53.4 million). That bond requires $2.18 million in annual payments through 2034.
The following table shows road projects — completed, in progress, and planned:
| Project | Limits | Work Type | Lanes | Cost | Timeline | Funding Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combs Road Widening & Kenworthy Connection | Kenworthy to Schnepf; Chandler Heights to Combs | Widening; new roadway | 2 → 5/7 | $24M | Completed 2025 | Developer, HURF, Impact Fees | 3 new signals; connection over QC Wash |
| Hunt Hwy & AZ Farms Rehab | Magma to Magic Ranch (2 mi); Hunt Hwy to UPRR (Union Pacific Railroad) (1 mi) | Rehabilitation | — | $4M | Completed 2024 | Excise Tax, HURF | — |
| Brenner Pass Area | 5 miles | ARDP surfacing | — | — | Completed | — | — |
| Skyline Drive Extension | Charbray to Gantzel | New connection | 3 | $4M | Late Spring 2026 | — | State Land Acquisition |
| Hunt Highway Phase 5 | Magma to Franklin (5 mi) | Widening | 2 → 5 | $35M | Summer 2026 (south end) | — | Joint with Florence; GRIC/State Land easement; includes 2 new signals |
| Gantzel Road Rehab | Empire to Ocotillo (7 mi) | Mill & overlay | — | $2M | FY 2026/27 | Excise Tax | — |
| Bella Vista Road DCR | Gantzel to Quail Run (3 mi) | Design study | — | $700K | FY 2026/27 | Excise Tax | — |
| Schnepf Road DCR | Germann to Skyline (6 mi) | Design study | — | $700K | FY 2026/27 | Excise Tax | — |
| Stagecoach Pass Ave | Schnepf to Ghost Rider (0.75 mi) | ARDP surfacing | — | $150K | FY 2027/28 | Excise Tax | Contingent on ROW donations |
| Empire Blvd Rehab | Gantzel to Gary (1.25 mi) | Mill & overlay | — | $2M | FY 2028/29 | Excise Tax | — |
| Charbray Drive Rehab | Gary to Skyline (2 mi) | Mill & overlay | — | $2M | FY 2028/29 | HURF | — |
| Gary Road Rehab | Empire to Hunt Hwy (1.8 mi) | Mill & overlay | — | $3M | FY 2028/29 | HURF | — |
Two corridor studies appear on the county’s future project list: Bella Vista Road and Schnepf Road. Both are design concept reports (DCR), which examine potential alignments, right-of-way needs, and construction costs before any building begins.
Garza explained why these studies are necessary.
“This whole area that we’re sitting in today is 30,000 platted lots,” she said. “So it’s a lot of people that are gonna be living here that need a regional route, and Bella Vista cannot accommodate it, and neither can Schnepf Road.”
Traffic Signals
Signals cost approximately $1.2 to $1.4 million each. The following table shows traffic signal projects by status:
| Location | Status | Cost | Funding Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gantzel & Algarve | Installed 2023 | $1.3M | Developer, HURF, Impact Fees | Serves Circle Cross community |
| Kenworthy & Ocotillo | Temporary (2025) | $120K | Developer, HURF, Impact Fees | — |
| Kenworthy & Ocotillo | Developer in progress | — | Developer | Permanent signal with multifamily project |
| Hunt Hwy & AZ Farms | Temporary (2024) | — | Excise Tax, HURF | — |
| Gary Rd & Don Lane | By end of June 2026 | $1.5M | Excise Tax, HURF | Behind Walmart; serves San Tan Heights |
| Empire Blvd & Thompson Rd | In design | — | Excise Tax, HURF | — |
| Empire Blvd & Spring Valley Pkwy | In design | — | Excise Tax, HURF | — |
| Ocotillo Rd & Schnepf Rd | In design | — | Excise Tax and HURF | — |
| Thompson Rd & Mountain Vista Blvd | Pending | — | ADOT HSIP | FY 2027 |
| Gantzel & El Parque | Developer pending | — | Developer | South of McDonald's on Gantzel |
| Ocotillo & Stensen | Developer design | — | Developer | — |
| Target Access & Gantzel | Temporary → Permanent | — | Developer | Town of Queen Creek process |
| Bella Vista & Tourmaline | Unfunded | — | — | — |
| Bella Vista & Schnepf | Unfunded | — | — | — |
| Bella Vista & Quail Run | Unfunded | — | — | — |
| Bella Vista & Sierra Vista | Unfunded | — | — | — |
| Schnepf & Skyline | Unfunded | — | — | — |
| Schnepf & Castlegate | Unfunded | — | — | — |
| Schnepf & Pairing | Unfunded | — | — | — |
| Gantzel & Judd | Unfunded | — | — | — |
| Gantzel & Scianna | Unfunded | — | — | — |
| Gantzel & Omega | Unfunded | — | — | — |
| Skyline & Sierra Vista | Unfunded | — | — | — |
| Skyline & Surrey | Unfunded | — | — | — |
| Skyline & Gantzel | Planned (Spring 2026) | — | — | Part of Skyline Drive extension |
Garza explained the federal requirements for signal installation.
“We oftentimes get, ‘Just go put up a stop sign to slow down traffic.’ We can’t. We can’t legally,” Garza said. “Folks will then not pay attention to the stop sign. Someone could get into an accident, and then the county is held liable, which in the future would mean town.”
The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) lists specific warrants that must be met before a signal can be installed. Town Manager Brent Billingsley suggested inviting the county engineer to explain MUTCD requirements at a future meeting.
Safety Projects
The following safety projects are underway or upcoming:
- Hunt Highway & Gary Road & Walmart — Signal re-timing
- Gantzel Road & Combs Road — Turn lane re-striping at JO Combs School
- NWC Gantzel Road & Pecan Drive — Curb return reconstruction
- Taylor Ranch Parkway — Signing, curb striping, and raised pavement markers
- School Zone Enhancements — Various locations (Florence Unified funded)
These safety projects remain unfunded:
- Hunt Highway & Gary Road — Turn lane and median improvements
- Bella Vista Road & Hunt Highway — Median and access control at Circle K/McDonald’s; turn lane upgrades (TAC)
- Ocotillo Road (Gantzel to East Commercial Access) — Median improvements
- Westbrooke Road (Gantzel to Kenworthy) — Corridor safety improvements
- SEC Gantzel Road & Pecan Drive — Curb return reconstruction
- Hunt Highway (various locations) — Right-turn lanes
- Hunt Highway & Stone Creek — Median improvements
Funding Sources
Joe Ortiz, Pinal County Managing Director of Development Services, outlined the revenue streams funding road projects. “HURF, VLT — Highway User Revenue Fund, Vehicle License Tax — that’s the big players in this,” he said. The county’s half-cent excise tax on gasoline also contributes. Developer contributions and development impact fees provide additional funding.
According to a January 13 council meeting article, San Tan Valley received $2 million in HURF and $1.5 million in VLT for October through December. In a separate presentation on transaction privilege taxes at the January 21 meeting, financial consultant Bill Kauppi estimated the town will receive $45 to $50 million annually in state shared revenues. However, part of that money is restricted. “Part of that’s for Highway User Revenue Fund. You can’t really touch that other than for street maintenance,” Kauppi said.
Joe Ortiz, Pinal County Managing Director of Development Services, noted the county has seen funding reductions.
State-shared revenues like VLT come from a fixed pool distributed among Arizona municipalities. When San Tan Valley incorporated, it became eligible for its own share — reducing what the county receives.
“Pinal County has already seen reductions in our funds with the VLT related to the incorporation,” Ortiz said. “ADOT is the one that administers and distributes those revenues. So we have been seeing reductions since October.”
Transportation Advisory Committee Rankings
The county’s Transportation Advisory Committee reviewed 16 requests from within the town boundary. Eleven projects either did not qualify or were already funded. The committee ranked five projects for fiscal year 2029/30:
- Bella Vista & Hunt Highway — Median enhancements
- Skyline Drive Extension (Gantzel to Schnepf) — New roadway
- Kenworthy Road (Ocotillo to Pima) — Pavement rehabilitation
- Roberts Road (near Prospector Ave) — Safety improvements
- Gantzel Road Quiet Zone Study for UPRR tracks — Safety improvements
The committee received 16 project requests. Residents submitted 96 requests for a single project: the Bella Vista and Hunt Highway intersection, where a fatality occurred.
Vice Mayor Asks for Guidance
Vice Mayor Tyler Hudgins asked county officials what wisdom they would share with the newly incorporated town.
“Just trying to get development to pay their own way, honestly,” Garza responded.
Ortiz added:
“You look at some of the revenue that’s going to be coming in through here from the fees, you think, ‘Yeah, that’s a lot of money.’ But reality, the cost of these projects are just enormous. And I think part of our problem that we had in the past as a county was we weren’t out in front of these impact fees to have development pay for their impacts. So we were always playing catch up. You have the opportunity to take it up and run with it.”
Town Manager Brent Billingsley shared a similar perspective earlier in the meeting, citing Maricopa’s experience.
“When Maricopa was a brand new city, it was very much cognizant of the importance of development paying its own way,” Billingsley said. “It was an early adopter of development impact fees. They would not have a police station, a city hall, any of that infrastructure now if they did not adopt that TPT rate specifically on the construction items.”
Half Annexations
Ortiz said the fast pace of annexation left some roads split between jurisdictions. The town owns half while another entity owns the other half.
He pointed to the Gantzel Road segment near Target as an example. Queen Creek owns the west side while Pinal County manages the east side.
“That really creates issues and problems,” Ortiz explained. “Whenever there’s an accident, who’s the lead? It all depends on whose side of the road it happened on.”
Ortiz noted that jurisdictions can negotiate transitions or establish intergovernmental agreements to define authority.
Council Questions
Councilmember Gia Jenkins asked about traffic impacts from a large apartment complex at Bella Vista and Gantzel. Garza said a traffic signal is planned north of the Bella Vista intersection. Impact fees will fund its construction.
Vice Mayor Hudgins raised concerns about the Solera neighborhood exit onto Hunt Highway. Garza noted that a 2019 warrant analysis did not justify a signal at that time. A new analysis could determine if conditions have changed.
Hudgins asked about the traffic signal configuration at Ironwood and Ocotillo. Garza explained that Western Area Power Authority transmission lines run adjacent to Ironwood. Proximity restrictions prevented standard signal placement.
Hudgins also inquired about melting street signs in San Tan Valley. Garza confirmed replacement signs are on order.
Drainage Study
The Pinal County Flood Control District is completing a San Tan Valley Area Drainage Master Plan. This study examines the area’s stormwater management needs.
Town Manager Billingsley announced that the county drainage engineer will present findings at an upcoming meeting.
“We’re hoping to get him out here on the 4th. And if not on the 4th, he’ll be here on the 18th,” Billingsley said.
The Flood Control District operates as a countywide taxing authority. It collects a secondary property tax of $0.162 per $100 of assessed value. The Board of Supervisors serves as its governing body. Future projects within the town will require intergovernmental agreements.
“I’m sure there’s some projects that come out of that study, some improvements that can be made for the area,” Garza said.
State Route 24 Extension
The State Route 24 extension from Ironwood Road to US 60 has an estimated construction cost of $572 million. The county has invested close to $6 to $7 million in design work.
The county completed a 15% design concept report for the Central Arizona Parkway segment from SR 24 to Arizona Farms Road in 2025. Environmental clearances with ADOT continue.
After completing the design concept report, the county plans to apply for federal and state grant funding. Garza noted the BUILD program is currently accepting applications.
February Meeting on Development
Garza noted that the county engineer and planning manager will present to the council on February 18.
“At that time, he can touch on the status of site plans, commercial site plans, like those multifamily projects, residential subdivisions, where they are in the queue, whether they’ve been accepted or they’re under construction,” Garza said.
