The Reata Wash Squeeze on Thompson Peak Parkway Was Always Temporary. Here's How the Fix Starts

Thompson Peak Parkway is four lanes wide with bike lanes on both sides until it reaches Reata Wash. There it narrows to one two-lane bridge, and the bike lanes cross the wash in the same tight space as the cars. As of this week, crews are working in the wash beneath that bridge.

Construction on a second bridge started Monday, Nov. 2, after a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 27. The City of Scottsdale expects the work to take about 12 months. When it's done, Thompson Peak Parkway will have four continuous travel lanes and bike lanes from Scottsdale Road to 100th Street. The new two-lane bridge will also have a sidewalk.

The single bridge was planned from the start as a temporary step, and finishing the job has taken this long.

A Bridge Designed in the Beginning and Built Decades Later

When DC Ranch was developed, the city and the developer signed an agreement. The developer would design both Thompson Peak Parkway bridges over Reata Wash but build only one, because the new community didn't yet have enough traffic to justify two. The agreement made the city responsible for building the second bridge once the area grew.

According to the city, car traffic never outgrew the single bridge. The bikes did. The city's project page says the existing bridge "has kept up with the vehicular traffic volume." More bicycle traffic on this segment has turned the crossing into "a safety concern for motorists and cyclists." Because four car lanes and two bike lanes all funnel onto one bridge, cyclists and merging drivers share that stretch.

The DC Ranch community says it pushed hard for this project. Its updates report that the bridge was the only transportation project in Scottsdale's 2019 bond election because of that advocacy. Voters approved the bond in November 2019. It's on the city's list as Project 62 under Question 2, Community Spaces and Infrastructure.

What Waiting Cost

The fix now costs much more than the 2019 estimate. The city's figures, from the ballot to today:

These numbers cover different things. The $8.09 million contract is the construction ceiling for Ames Construction. According to the Scottsdale Progress, it also covers "a public art component and minor improvements to the current bridge." The $14.2 million budget is the full project. Most of it comes from the 2019 bond, and the city's 0.2% transportation sales tax pays the rest. In short, a project voters approved at $6.3 million now has a budget more than twice that size.

The Scottsdale Progress described the bridge as one of the 2019 bond projects still waiting to be built. It reported that 26 bond projects were listed as completed, leaving the city "still less than half way to the bond finish line."

What Neighbors Asked the Bridge to Look Like

The bridge's design went through DC Ranch's Community Council before the contract was approved. After reviewing the city's first drawings in July 2026, the council sent these comments:

• Stone: Faux stone wasn't acceptable. The council wanted DC Cobble to match the original bridge.
• Barriers: Jersey barriers along the full length of the bridge weren't acceptable. The council suggested dropping the sidewalk and continuing the natural path through the wash instead.
• Arched supports: Removing the arches under the bridge wasn't the council's preference, but it understood the cost savings.
• Railings: Metal could replace wood if the design matched the original bridge. The council also asked the city to replace the original bridge's railings with metal because they're in poor condition.

By September, the final design used a metal feature in place of wood, chosen for durability and styled to match the existing bridge. The city's plan still includes a sidewalk on the new bridge. The October groundbreaking recognized the collaboration between Scottsdale and DC Ranch, along with the project teams from the city, Kimley-Horn and Ames Construction.

Why the First Months Happen Mostly Out of Sight

Most of the early work takes place below the road surface. Here's what the city says the opening phase includes:

1. Salvaging and relocating native plants from the work area. A temporary on-site plant nursery holds them during construction.
2. Locating underground utilities and moving them where needed.
3. Drilling shafts for the new bridge's supports.

Crews work Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The contractor's staging area is on-site. The city says travel lanes won't be affected during this phase. In the city's groundbreaking announcement, Alison Tymkiw, senior director of transportation and infrastructure, said: "Our initial construction activities will take place largely below the roadway, allowing us to begin this important work without affecting travel lanes."

For daily drivers, cyclists and walkers, that means the early activity sits in the wash, where the staging area and temporary plant nursery are located. The project hotline is 602-290-0729, and the city's project page is the place to check for updates.

The Bond Project That Already Opened Nearby

The bridge isn't the first 2019 bond project on this corridor. Thompson Peak Dog Park opened in August 2026 at the southwest corner of Hayden Road and Thompson Peak Parkway. The Valley Now reported on Aug. 22 that it was open, a day after the city announced it.

Its timeline shows how these bond projects tend to go. In April 2024, construction fencing went up at that corner. A city estimate that July put completion in summer 2025. By July 2025, DC Ranch reported the project was more than two years behind schedule and waiting on city staff and Development Review Board approval. It opened in August 2026, more than two years after the fencing went up.

Here's what the park offers, according to the city's project page and dog park listing and rules:

• Location: 20199 N. 78th Place, on 3.5 acres
• Hours: Year-round, 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Maintenance closures: Mondays and Thursdays, 8 a.m. to noon
• Layout: Three fenced play areas that rotate so the turf can recover, plus shade canopies, benches, water fountains, pet-waste stations, a footbridge, a restroom building and added parking off Hayden Road
• Rules worth knowing before you go: No more than four dogs per visitor, an adult must accompany anyone under 16, and dogs in heat must stay out of the exercise area

The park also has public art. Scottsdale Arts named artist Shachi Kale and her dog-themed piece, "Woof!", in an Aug. 19 announcement. According to DC Ranch's bridge updates, city ordinance requires the bridge to include a public art element as well. That will make two pieces of bond-funded art within about a year on the same stretch of road.

What the Finished Corridor Connects

Once the second bridge opens, Thompson Peak Parkway will have the same layout from Scottsdale Road to 100th Street: four travel lanes, a bike lane in each direction and no merge at the wash. The city says the project improves access to nearby parks and schools. The new sidewalk will give walkers a dedicated path across the wash, which is what Tymkiw described as "dedicated space for people biking and walking."

The crossing is also part of DC Ranch's trail network. The community publishes a "Reata Wash/Thompson Peak Pkwy. Route" for residents and a separate route map toward the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. It describes more than 50 miles of landscaped paths and trails linking its 47 neighborhood parks. The bridge that DC Ranch's founding agreement held back will cross the same wash that route is named for. The city's current estimate is about 12 months from the Nov. 2 start.

If you live off Thompson Peak Parkway and are trying to work out how a year of construction at Reata Wash affects your plans, whether that means timing a sale or answering a buyer's questions about the corridor, AZ Unique Homes can help you sort through it. Let's Connect.