The intersection of Main Street and Montezuma Castle Highway is getting a makeover.
Already, the Circle K gas station that filled in the land between the two roads has shut down. At the Camp Verde Town Council meeting on April 11, city officials discussed plans to buy the land that holds the former Circle K and turn it into something new. Where the two roads meet, there will be a traffic light.
The council discussed the idea of using that parcel of land, not for a new business, but for a piece of public beautification — ideas of a park or a fountain came up. Mayor Charlie German sees this as fulfillment of the promise that came when the Arizona Department of Transportation rerouted State Route 260 away from Main Street, freeing the Camp Verde road to be improved by the city.
“I think it could be a nice little pocket park with maybe a couple or three picnic tables where those businesses right there on a pretty day could go over and have lunch,” German said. “That view looking off to the northwest and the north of some of the red rocks — installing a couple of those quarter or 50-cent telescopes to where they can actually view that and then having a plaque that identifies the mountain range.”
In addition to redesigning the lot, the plans would also involve a change to how the roads meet each other, with an aim of fixing the acute intersection where Montezuma Castle Highway meets Main Street. The hope would be to turn the road a little bit, allowing it to meet at something closer to a right angle, with the new traffic light helping to organize traffic on the two heavily traveled streets.
Town officials, however, were quick to insist that any rumors of the intersection being replaced with a roundabout were baseless.
“The town has never built a roundabout yet and has no intention of building one,” said Town Manager Russ Martin.
He pointed out that the roundabouts in town that do exist were constructed by ADOT, not the town itself, and that all involved with the planning hoped to keep things that way.
The planning is still in the preliminary stages, with nothing officially decided. Town officials expressed enthusiasm about what could be done, but were realistic about how long it might take. As of now, there are no funds yet dedicated to this project, so ballpark guesses of its completion date are around five years.
“There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of urgency, but people I think would like to see that finished up and taken care of at some point,” German said. “I would think within five years, possibly sooner if we have the funds.” With the plans still in the preliminary stages, town officials encouraged Camp Verde residents to come forward with any ideas or concerns about the potential changes.
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551 or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
