Detour, detour, detour… (Grand Canal & River Path)
For those of you not on Facebook <I envy you> here are some details about a couple of bike path detours that you might encounter. First up the 24th Street Grand Canal Bridge Replacement Project.
At about 75 years old is one of the oldest bridges over the SRP canal system. This bridge will be removed and replaced over the coming months and during this project our path through the construction site may change. This is what it looked like in mid November and for the most part it’s not changed significantly.
Above is a image showing the normal path (blue) and the detour path (red) during the construction. In another week SRP will completely drain this section of the canal during the annual canal dry-up period from January 8th to February 7th, 2020. During this period construction activity will likely be more vigorous as it’s the only time work can be performed in the canal bed.
If you’d rather avoid this area the below image is our proposed bypass using Oak Street and 22nd Street. There are traffic lights at both major crossings (24th and Thomas) making it easier to get through this area during heavy traffic times.
Here’s a ‘walkthrough’ of the detour on 24th street when traveling eastbound.
Salt River Pathway at McClintock Drive
Next I’ll try to convey the changes and detour you’ve likely experienced at McClintock Drive at Tempe Market Place.
The detour path for the McClintock underpass construction is a bit less clear but we’ve mapped it out in case you’ve not been over there yet.
There’s not a lot to write about for this detour. There really are no suitable bypass opportunities so you’ll have to bear with the construction until the underpass is open for business summer 2020. Use caution as some of the sidewalks they have us riding on are only 5 feet wide.
A few weeks after taking those photos I found myself back at this location with some time on my hands on a weekend so I ventured beyond the caution tape and took some pictures of the construction site.
