Three years after the design was approved, the city of Sedona is just now in the midst of its long awaited extension project at Forest Road.

The project will give another connection from State Route 89A to Uptown, but also is a key component to the upcoming Uptown parking garage according to city officials.

As proposed, it will allow Uptown residents to bypass the two roundabouts at Brewer Road and the “Y” and serve as an additional ingress and egress route for emergency responders and emergency evacuation.

Back in 2018, a survey about the extension was first sent out to Uptown residents, which showed 78% of participants supported the project. Then in 2019, the project was brought to City Council where design recommendations were given.

In 2021, the city made arrangements to purchase easements on 11 parcels owned by nine separate entities and individuals directly affected for a total of $1.6 million, acquiring a variety of property rights including fee title to the right-of-way and easements for right-of-way, slope, drainage, sanitary sewer and temporary construction.

Last week, work finally picked up at the sites, from the arrival of machinery to lane restrictions and speed reductions. And this may be the norm for the next 15 months that the city anticipates the project will take to complete.

Initially, the project began with a summer 2023 end date, but since then the city expanded the timeline to fall of 2023.

This is due to the continued shortage of materials and availability in the construction world.

The complexity of this project, from the utility relocation to the blasting, also required some change in schedule.

“The Forest Road project at this location will excavate down below the existing grate, roughly 20 to 25 feet. The depth of the existing [Arizona Public Service] line at this location is roughly 6 feet,” Associate City Engineer Bob Welch said. “So there’s a substantial amount of great difference between the new roadway and the existing power line, which will force some relocation need for this underground facility.

“So we’re proposing on a temporary basis, to facilitate the construction, a temporary overhead line which will connect with this existing power pole and a temporary power pole somewhere up in this location.” Aside from the utility work that the road construction team required before they begin their work, the project also requires blasting in the southern end of the connection. Although the city has not yet contracted with a company for the parking garage structure, a bid that was placed by the city at $18 million, the City Council authorized the excavation of the garage site within the same contract as the blasting.

In an update provided by the public works department, the city warned residents and businesses within 500 feet of the blasting area of what the blasting will look and feel like. Although there is no set date yet, the city will alert those nearby with no less than 24 hours before the blasting.

Overall, this project, which according to the city will greatly contribute to the Sedona In Motion’s goals, will cost roughly $9.1 million, with the additional estimated $18 million for the garage.