The Prescott Pioneer Stories by Ray Newton
Planned improvements along the Granite Creek Corridor in downtown Prescott are delayed until October 2022 because bids for corridor construction were about $800,000 higher than estimates had predicted.
Improvements along the Granite Creek Corridor will be delayed for several months because construction bids came in higher than expected.
Improvements likely won’t begin until October 2022, with completion expected April 2023.
Only two firms submitted bids: Asphalt Paving and Supply, $2.55 million, and Fann Contracting Inc., $3.4 million. Both were significantly higher than the original $1.9 million cost estimate. Bids were presented to the City Council Oct. 26.
Tyler Goodman, assistant to the city manager, said costs were higher because construction and materials prices and supply chain issues have increased dramatically during the past several months.
New bid requests likely will occur late spring or early summer. “We’ll be submitting this bid request again through the City’s budget process and will have to receive continued City Council support,” Goodman said.
Construction was complicated further when the $500,000 grant the City applied for through the Land and Water Conservation Fund in 2021 was delayed until the 2022 round for grants.
Goodman said he and City Recreation Services Director Joe Baynes will pursue that grant request opportunity again. They believe they can ask for even more than a half-million dollars.
Corridor Improvements
When complete, the corridor will include better overhead lighting, new signage, Greenway Trails and improved trail surfaces, better access for handicapped and major improvements to creek channels.
City personnel and local groups long have considered Granite Creek Corridor — the stream beds that run through the center of downtown Prescott — as a potential destination, much like San Antonio’s Riverwalk, but smaller.
Goodman said groups and organization involved in planning corridor improvements include the Prescott Chamber of Commerce, Arizona Public Service, Sharlot Hall Museum, Prescott Creeks, City Tourism Advisory Committee, Northern Arizona Council of Governments and the Planning and Zoning Commission.
