Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: Those traveling on 1200 South attempting to turn south onto 800 West were turned away by large cement blocks across the roadway. The town of Pima closed down the section of road to through traffic and later added a gate to open it for events. On Tuesday, the Pima Town Council unanimously voted to reopen the road but with weight restrictions.
By Jon Johnson
PIMA – After a slew of county residents living southwest of Pima, the Pima Town Council unanimously voted to reopen the intersection of 800 West and 1200 South/Cottonwood Wash Road – albeit with a weight limit of 17,000 pounds for trailers and a limitation for single-axle vehicles only.
The town had previously closed the intersection to through traffic in October to spare the cost of maintenance on the road, which Pima Town Manager said was costing the town $20,000.
Cement blocks were initially placed at the intersection and were replaced with a gate that could be opened for events at the Vard Lines Memorial Roping Arena and Pima ballfields. The gate is now open, and will only be closed during times of maintenance on the road.
At its Tuesday night council meeting, Lewis suggested the town narrow the road and limit the weight of vehicles using it. Without the availability of scales or manpower to utilize them, Lewis suggested limiting the roadway to single-axle vehicles.
The current roadway is between 60 to 80 feet wide depending on the spot. Lewis told the Gila Herald that the roadway would be narrowed to 30 feet or even 28 feet.
Lewis also suggested the council consider putting up signs regarding the weight limit.
The council unanimously approved reopening the road, narrowing it, and adding weight and speed limit signs. The signs should be up around February when a new ordinance regarding the weight restrictions should go into action. The ordinance will have to have a first reading in January, followed by a second reading at the town’s February meeting prior to going into law.
Lewis told the Gila Herald that he would begin advising local construction companies and like businesses that they will still need to utilize Main Street and not 800 West due to the single-axle and gross weight limitations. He advised that officers will patrol the area more often due to speeding in the area, but he hopes there won’t be a lot of enforcement needed to have people adhere to the limited use.
“But, we are going to make it an ordinance, so we absolutely will be able to enforce it if we need to,” Lewis said.
Lewis said the town is still planning to pave the section of the road in the future when it finds a revenue source to do so, even if it takes two fiscal years. He estimated the cost of paving the section to be about $100,000.
“It’s gonna happen,” Lewis said. “We are going to get that road done. It just has way too much traffic. With our own events that go on out there – our Little League and our soccer and our ropings and our rodeos – and then the daily traffic, we’ve gotta fix that road.”
The town previously decided to close down the intersection to minimize traffic on the half-mile dirt portion of 800 West. The portion used to be paved, but it deteriorated so much that the town removed the asphalt and was maintaining it as a dirt road to the tune of about $20,000 per year, according to Lewis.
