Thompson Peak Parkway Has Waited Decades for Its Second Bridge. Work Starts Nov. 2.

"Currently, the four lanes of traffic that travel Thompson Peak Parkway merge into two travel lanes over the existing bridge." That line comes from a City of Scottsdale staff report quoted by scottsdale.org ahead of the City Council's Sept. 22 meeting. Anyone who drives or rides the parkway knows the spot. Four lanes run in, two lanes cross the Reata Wash, and four lanes pick up again on the other side. The bike lanes pinch in the same place.

The narrowing was always meant to be temporary. The crossing was drawn as a pair of bridges, and only one was built. On Monday, Nov. 2, the City of Scottsdale starts building the other one.

A bridge drawn twice and built once

The City's project page goes back to DC Ranch's founding. The City and the developer agreed that the developer would design the Thompson Peak Parkway bridges over the Reata Wash but build only one, because the new community did not yet have the traffic to justify two. Under that agreement, once development brought enough traffic, the City would have to build the second bridge on the east side of the road for northbound travel.

That deal explains what drivers see now. The parkway carries four lanes and two bike lanes on either side, and the crossing in the middle was left at half capacity until the area grew into it. The City calls the four-lane, two-bike-lane layout the road's "ultimate cross-section." The new span is the piece that gets Thompson Peak Parkway there.

The new bridge copies the old one. The City describes a two-lane bridge "that mirrors the existing bridge," with bike lanes and a sidewalk. When it is finished, Thompson Peak Parkway will run as a continuous four-lane road with bike lanes from Scottsdale Road to 100th Street.

Bikes, more than cars, made it a safety problem

Under the original agreement, the City's obligation to build the second bridge kicked in once traffic volume warranted it, and the City says that point arrived as the area developed. The safety case is a separate matter. According to the project page, the existing bridge "has kept up with the vehicular traffic volume." What changed was bicycle traffic on this stretch, which grew until the bridge became "a safety concern for motorists and cyclists."

That explains why the project carries the name it does. On the 2019 bond ballot it was Project 62, "Build a Bridge on Thompson Peak Parkway Bridge over Reata Pass Wash to Improve Safety," under Question 2, Community Spaces and Infrastructure. Today, a cyclist in the bike lane and a driver in the right-hand lane both have to merge at the same choke point. Two spans side by side remove the merge for both of them.

DC Ranch pushed for the project to happen sooner. The DC Ranch project page says the community's advocacy is why the bridge was the only transportation project in the 2019 Scottsdale bond election.

The price kept climbing

The price changed as the schedule slipped, and the figures below come from different stages of the project. They are not the same budget restated.

The construction contract alone is larger than the whole amount voters approved in 2019. Ames Construction submitted the low bid, which scottsdale.org reported as $8 million. Council approved it on the consent agenda as Resolution 13778. The City lists two funding sources: 2019 bond money for most of the cost and the City's 0.2% Transportation Sales Tax for the rest.

The cost growth is common among the 2019 bond projects. DC Ranch's page says the City reported in March 2023 that inflation and construction delays had pushed up costs on many bond projects. The City had found extra funding each time, and some projects finished well after their original dates, but none was dropped. According to scottsdale.org, 26 of the bond projects are listed as completed, leaving the City less than halfway through the package.

The construction start also moved several times before the contract was signed. DC Ranch's running log of the project shows each change:

1. February 2020. The City's bond implementation report listed the bridge for 2024 to 2026. DC Ranch noted that the report itself showed 2027, and that the city manager told the DC Ranch Community Council in March 2020 the work would move up to 2024.
2. March 2023. The schedule was confirmed as design in 2024 and construction in 2025 and 2026.
3. July 2024. The FY24/25 budget funded design, with construction expected the next year.
4. March 2025. Kimley-Horn was hired as design consultant to start environmental and cultural resource surveys.
5. Sept. 22, 2026. Council approved the construction contract.

DC Ranch wants the new span to match the old one

The new bridge is supposed to "mirror" the old one, and DC Ranch has worked to hold the City to that. In July 2026, City staff took the initial designs to the DC Ranch Community Council. The board responded on four points, according to DC Ranch:

• Stone. Fake stone is not acceptable. The stone should match the original bridge, using DC Cobble.
• Barriers. Jersey barriers along the full length of the bridge are unacceptable. The board suggested removing the sidewalk and continuing the natural path through the wash.
• Arches. Removing the arched supports under the bridge is not the board's preference, but it understood the cost savings.
• Railings. Metal railings are acceptable if they match the original design, and the original bridge's railings, which are in poor condition, should be replaced with metal as part of the project.

The City's description includes "minor improvements to the current bridge," which scottsdale.org quoted from the staff report. That leaves room for the railing replacement the board asked for, though no source confirms the City accepted that request. The design notes add a second piece. City ordinance requires a public art element on the bridge, and both DC Ranch and the staff report confirm the project includes one. The City held a public open house on the design and timeline on Sept. 9 at The Homestead, DC Ranch's community center.

The stone and railing requests show what DC Ranch is after. Both are about how the crossing looks from the parkway and from the wash. The goal is a crossing that reads as one original structure, with one half finished late, instead of an old bridge with a newer one bolted on beside it.

What the first phase looks like from the road

At first, drivers will see little change. The City's Oct. 16 construction notice describes the opening phase:

• Work runs Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., starting Monday, Nov. 2.
• Crews will salvage and relocate native plants, find underground utilities and possibly relocate them, and drill shafts for the bridge supports.
• Much of this work happens below grade, down in the Reata Wash.
• Travel lanes will not be affected during this phase.
• The contractor's staging area and a temporary plant nursery will be on site.

The plant nursery is the detail people passing by are most likely to notice. Desert plants dug out of the construction footprint will be kept on site until they can be replanted. So the first sign of the bridge will be crews working in the wash bed, with traffic moving as usual overhead.

When the four lanes will connect

The two published completion dates do not match. DC Ranch's July 2025 update says the community worked with the City to move completion up from 2028 to spring 2027. The City's project page, updated Oct. 16, 2026, says construction will take about 12 months from the Nov. 2 start, which points to the end of 2027.

The City's figure is newer and is based on an actual start date, so the end of 2027 is the better working estimate. Even that is an estimate, since the City gives a duration, not a date. The City has not yet published lane-closure or detour plans for the phases after the work in the wash. The project page itself is a little inconsistent, too. Its status header reads "Completed" while the notice below it describes work that has not started. For updates on closures as the bridge goes up, the City's page and DC Ranch's project log are the places to check.

When the work is done, the parkway will be four lanes and two bike lanes from Scottsdale Road to 100th Street, with no merge at the Reata Wash.

Projects like the Thompson Peak bridge change how a North Scottsdale address works day to day, and they tend to move faster on paper than on the ground. If you are thinking about a home along the Thompson Peak Parkway corridor and want to talk through what the next year of construction means for it, Artie Baxter is glad to sit down with you. Book an appointment.