Nearly a mile section of Grand Avenue, one of the oldest thoroughfares in the Valley, was closed for more than a year while crews built the roadway below ground to pass beneath a unique crossing of Glendale and 59th avenues.

The project was undertaken to eliminate a major traffic bottleneck and provide a striking new entrance to Glendale’s historic downtown district with new pedestrian, transit and aesthetic features enhancing the intersection.

Bob Winrow, resident engineer on the project for ADOT’s Phoenix Construction District, says, "Building a new roadway through the historic downtown district in Glendale has been challenging. Discoveries of old utilities and sandy soil conditions pushed back the completion of early construction items and resulted in rephasing the intersection construction activities to keep the project on schedule."

Success is due in large part to effective collaborations. The project’s location, sandwiched between the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and Glendale City Hall, created the need for close coordination with the railroad and the City of Glendale. ADOT and the contractor’s staff have worked to minimize construction impacts to Historic Downtown Glendale, and a comprehensive partnership between ADOT and the City of Glendale helped to keep businesses and the public informed about the project. Environmental study impacts that estimated a $4-million economic loss and the closure of 18-22 businesses due to customers avoiding the area have not been realized. In reality, Glendale reports that no businesses have closed due to the construction activity, and sales tax revenues were the same or slightly higher than before the project began.