Town Lake Construction Updates

CITY PROJECTS
Recently Completed Projects
East Valley Bus Operations and Maintenance Facility
	A 25-acre bus maintenance facility, owned and operated by Tempe, located west of Priest on Rio Salado Parkway has been completed. The facility includes 75,600 sq. ft. of fuel and washing space, and 19,650 sq. ft. of administration and operations space, and will serve as a base for a 250-bus fleet.
The Tempe transportation division provides transit services to Tempe, Scottsdale, and the surrounding area as part of the Regional Public Transportation Authority/Valley Metro Transit Agency. This Facility will be certified at the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver level by the U.S. Green Building Council.

USACE Downstream Habitat Restoration - Phase II
	The 93-acre area of the riverbed near the Tempe Town Lake west dam is “going green” with plant growth. It has been planted with a mix of lower Sonoran Palo Verde, Mesquite Bosque, and desert open space habitats. The contractor, Macro-Z-Technology, and the US Army Corps of Engineers have worked diligently to get this section of the Salt River bed restored to its natural habitat.

Tempe Center for the Arts
	Tempe Center for the Arts is a unique visual and performing arts experience that begins the moment one sees the building. The 88,000 sq. ft. cultural facility features a 600-seat performance hall, 200-seat studio, 3,500 sq. ft. art gallery, a 3,400 sq. ft. lakeside banquet and meeting room, a 17-acre art park and many other intriguing elements. Go to Tempe Center for the Arts for more information.

Light Rail Bridge
	Construction of the Valley Metro Light Rail Bridge across Town Lake was completed in 2006. The Light Rail Bridge is 1530 feet long and spans Tempe Town Lake adjacent to the historic Union Pacific steel truss Railroad Bridge. V-shape pier caps rise to meet steel trusses that feature diagonal pipe bracing connecting top and bottom pipe chords.
	The rails have been set in place on the plinths (concrete support beams). Poles for the overhead contact system that will deliver electricity to power the light rail trains have been installed. When the entire system is up and running, there should be a train passing over the bridge every 10 minutes during commute times and every half hour at other times. Click here for a graphic representation of the Light Rail Bridge over Town Lake. For information about the Light Rail go to http://www.valleymetro.org/METRO_light_rail/ .

Sandy Beach Volleyball Courts
	A three acre sandy beach has been created on the north bank of Town Lake east of the Mill Avenue Bridges. This new recreation area provides four sand volleyball courts and an open space area for additional recreational uses such as sand soccer. This area is for public use, contact Rio Salado Operations Center at 480-350-8625 to reserve a court.

North Bank Linear Park at Playa del Norte
	Another important link along Tempe Town Lake is completed. The North Bank Linear Park is located along the northern edge of the lake from the Rural Road Bridge to the Indian Bend Wash. It includes a half-mile multi-use path, lush landscaped areas, shade structures, a small amphitheater, two grand staircases, and several picnic tables and benches throughout the linear park. City staff worked with adjacent developers to create a seamless, integrated design.


FUTURE Projects
Welcome Center and Boathouse at Town Lake
	The City of Tempe has issued a request for Proposal to design and construct a 36,000 square foot Welcome Center/Boathouse to be located on the north bank of Tempe Town Lake. This 0.7 acre building site is within the town Lake Marina and directly west of the safe harbor lagoon. The boathouse would serve as the central place for information about development and activities at Town Lake.
It would house the City's boating programs, some of the other rowing programs, and would serve as the center for all Town Lake operations, boating education and lake recreation activities at Town Lake. The third floor is planned as a community space that will be available for rent. For more information call 480-350-8625.

Between the Bridges Park
	Rio Salado has collaborated over the past three years with staff from the ASU School of Architecture to develop concept designs for a plaza, grand stairway, and community space on vacant land between Tempe Beach Park and Hayden Ferry Lakeside development which lies between the Mill Avenue Bridges.
This missing link between two active projects is planned to serve as a gateway to Town Lake from Mill Avenue by providing a vital access point for Tempe Beach Park and gathering space for the community. The City of Tempe has issued a Request for Proposal to design and construct this portion of the park. For more information call Nancy Ryan at (480) 350-8625

Pedestrian Bridge at Town Lake
	The City of Tempe selected T.Y.LIN International for the design of the Tempe Town Lake Pedestrian Bridge over the Town Lake Downstream Dam. Tempe seeks to create a pedestrian bridge that combines the aesthetics of art and architecture with engineering to serve as a functional icon at the lake. The project will be located atop the existing downstream dam at the west end of the lake. The bridge will connect existing bike and pedestrian multiuse paths on the north and south sides of the lake and provide a link to Tempe Center of the Arts, Scottsdale’s Indian Bend Wash path system, as well as the Mill Avenue District.

Veteran's Memorial in Tempe Beach Park
	To be located in Tempe Beach Park the concept for the Veteran's Memorial includes five brushed stainless steel plates with each representing one of the five major branches of military service. The steel plates wrap around and protect a crystal suspended in the middle of the memorial. The steel plates wrap around and protect a crystal suspended in the middle of the memorial. The crystal embodies the spirit and virtues of the United States of America. Its beauty is fragile in contrast to the steel plates that protect it. It represents every man and woman who has enlisted in the armed forces to protect our families and serve the community To donate to the Veterans Tribute Fund, a 501C3 Corporation, contact Joe Spracale, 51 E. Yvonne Lane, Tempe, Arizona 85284 or call (480) 940-0958.


Riverside Linear Park
	This 0.75 mile multi-use path will stretch from Priest Drive to Hardy Drive along the south bank of the Salt River. The project involves creating a concrete path that will connect to a series of small plazas, landscaped edges and public art elements such as entry point totems, and shade structure.
The planting material on the south side of the path will be placed to represent the structured urban environment, on the north side of the path will be placed to represent the unstructured desert environment, and the path forms the transition between the two. Construction of the path is anticipated to start February 2008 and be complete in November 2008.

Rio Salado Pathway
The Rio Salado Pathway (Tempe to Phoenix) is a proposed accessible, shared-use path proposed along the south bank of the Rio Salado beginning at Priest Drive in Tempe and ending approximately 28th Street in Phoenix. Through support of both the City Councils of Tempe and Phoenix and Regional Council of Maricopa Association of governments, $150,000 was approved to conduct a Feasibility Study on the shared-use trail and public amenities for the nearly four mile gap. Now that the study is completed, the cities of Tempe and Phoenix are currently seeking a combination of private and public funding to construct Rio Salado Pathway. For more information contact Eric Iwersen 480-350-8810 or go to www.tempe.gov/tim.