Manager’s Message: Marana department ‘works’ to get things done

Mar 07, 2024

Have you ever wondered who fills potholes and changes the traffic lights and manages the road construction projects? The town of Marana Public Works Department plays a vital role in making Marana the ideal place to live, work and play through our infrastructure maintenance and improvement programs.

Public works has six divisions: airport, capital improvements, facilities, fleet services, streets and traffic. We work hard with our fellow town departments and community partners to ensure an organization of excellence.

Marana Regional Airport has four full-time staff with a superintendent, administrative assistant and two maintenance employees, who maintain 610 acres, two runways measuring over 6,900 and 3,800 feet, and accommodate over 90,000 takeoffs and landings a year.

The days are filled with maintenance projects, billings, flight tracking, and providing five-star service to the businesses and users who enjoy the airport. Recent maintenance projects include upgrading the existing lighting to LED lights.

Our highest-profile project will be the addition of an air traffic control tower (ATCT). We are in the early stages and are projected to reach completion in fiscal year 2025. The ATCT will be manned by Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers.

Our capital improvement program oversees the funding, design and construction of new public infrastructure, including roadways, bridges, water and wastewater, parks, airport improvements and buildings.

An example of a large-scale project under design is Tangerine Road Phase 2A. We have partnered with the Regional Transportation Authority, and soon we’ll see the stretch of Tangerine Road between Marana Tech Drive and Interstate 10 extended to four lanes with drainage improvements, sidewalks, ADA facilities, multiuse path, waterline extensions, and sewer modifications and additions. This will be a welcome improvement to the area, which serves as a major corridor for local and regional traffic.

The facilities division has 10 operation staff and is responsible for 10 sites, 36 buildings, 614 rooms, 80 fan coil/cassette systems and 15 rooftop condensing units at Marana Police Department, 79 HVAC heat pump units, 50 split fan units, 16 evaporative coolers, seven gas furnaces, and one chilled water system, which includes two chillers, two cooling towers, nine air handlers, and 152 VAV/fan coils at the Marana Municipal Complex. Facilities responds to 380 internal requests and closed 2,128 work tasks. That’s a lot!

This team not only provides services that are vital to town employees, but they also ensure that residents enjoy clean, safe, well-maintained facilities.

The fleet division manages over 900 pieces of equipment, from basic landscaping power tools to off-road construction equipment, including vehicles, trucks and sedans driven by staff and police officers. Last fiscal year, Fleet’s staff of five technicians completed over 1,700 repairs. Fleet provides 24/7 support, including after-hour repairs and refueling emergency generators.

Fleet is also responsible for surplusing vehicles and equipment that have met their lifecycle.

The traffic division is responsible for the operations and maintenance of 28 traffic signals, three pedestrian hybrid beacons (HAWKs), almost 10,000 signs, and miles and miles of pavement markings. Two more traffic signals are under construction, with two more in the design phase.

Many of the traffic signals are on the town’s fiber-optic network or connected to the traffic signal network via radios. Additionally, the town uses a cloud-based traffic monitoring system and collaborates with the UA for traffic data collection and monitoring. The town is well-placed to take advantage of advanced transportation technologies.

The traffic division also reviews and approves plans and studies for new and improved roadways, including many work zone safety plans. It is challenging to ensure safe and efficient transportation infrastructure as the town grows, which is why the town is working with a consultant to prepare a transportation master plan. The plan will assess current and future mobility needs and develop a long-term multimodal vision for transportation in the town of Marana.

Finally, the streets division is a team of hard-working individuals who ensure the travel ways throughout the town are well maintained. With over 575 lane miles of asphalt, 800 drainage culverts, and 252 miles of sidewalk to name a few of the assets maintained by this group, they have a demanding job. Add in storm preparedness planning and response during the monsoon, it’s clear this team keeps busy. Strong private development growth also provides challenges as most roadways built within new subdivisions are conveyed to the town upon completion and added to the town of Marana Public Works Road Maintenance Network.

Hopefully I’ve provided insight into the town of Marana’s Public Works Department. If the idea of public service, working for the public works department interests you, visit maranaaz.gov/jobs-listing as we are always on the lookout for new team members.

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