The Arizona Department of Transportation State Transportation Boad unanimously approved including the State Route 89A lighting project in West Sedona in its five-year plan at its meeting Friday, Feb. 19.

The lights will be erected to improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists traveling along the stretch.

Construction on the project will begin this fall, according to ADOT spokeswoman Teresa Welborn. ADOT staff will present the Sedona City Council with three project options Wednesday, Feb. 24. Each option requires the city to pay anywhere from $160,000 to $1 million for lights other than ADOT’s standard gray Cobra heads.

Welborn said if the city wants anything other than ADOT’s standard — which will cost $2 million for the project — it has to pay the difference.

The three option ADOT will present include:

• painting the ADOT standard Cobra head lights Sedona Red at a cost of approximately $160,000 to the city.
• 30-foot Monterey lights — similar to those in Uptown — at a cost of approximately $500,000.
• 35-foot Monterey lights at a cost of approximately $1 million to the city. 

ADOT narrowed 68 alternatives down to the three choices based on public comment and other factors, according to Welborn.

The lights will be erected to address safety concerns for residents and visitors walking along the corridor after dark following four fatal pedestrian-vehicle collisions on the roadway.

For updated information on the city’s vote Tuesday, Feb. 23, click here.