SURPRISE, AZ — A major road project planned near northern Surprise could provide another connection to Loop 303 for residents who say rapid growth has made getting in and out of their neighborhoods increasingly difficult.
The City of Peoria, working with the Arizona Department of Transportation, plans to extend and widen El Mirage Road for about two miles between Jomax Road and Loop 303.
The project would transform what is currently a dirt roadway into a larger north-south connection, with two travel lanes in each direction, bicycle paths and sidewalks. Plans also call for a traffic signal at Happy Valley and El Mirage roads.
For Surprise resident Kylee Stutesman, another route cannot come soon enough.
“There’s been a lot of traffic, a lot of construction, there’s been a lot of accidents,” Stutesman said.
Residents in northwest Surprise have long complained about limited routes connecting their growing neighborhoods with the rest of the Valley. Happy Valley Road is one of the major options, and residents say congestion there has increasingly affected their daily routines.
“Traffic in Happy Valley Road, I feel it’s just constant,” Surprise resident Kayleen Jenkins said. “I feel like people are having to leave earlier for work, having to rearrange their days to leave their houses earlier.”
The El Mirage Road project would provide another route to Loop 303. It would also include new crossings over the McMicken Dam Outlet Channel and Beardsley Canal.
Jenkins believes the additional freeway connection could help distribute some of the traffic currently traveling on other busy roads.
“Having another way at least to Happy Valley and that access to the 303 will be a good thing,” Jenkins said. “I think it might detour some of the traffic from 163rd and Grand.”
Stutesman said congestion has already doubled the length of her commute.
“My, like, work ETA, it used to be just about 15 minutes,” she said. “Now it takes me about 30 minutes to get to work.”
The concerns have become more pressing as northwest Surprise continues adding new housing developments. Residents say the number of homes being constructed makes additional transportation routes important not only for convenience but also for access in and out of the area.
“It’s fearful because with only two ways in, two ways out, and the increase in homes they’re building out here, it just makes you worry some,” Jenkins said.
Project stakeholders held a community meeting Wednesday night in Peoria to present final designs and discuss what residents can expect once construction begins.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2028 and is expected to last about 18 months.
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