We are impressed, as everyone in Sedona should be, at the speed with which the Forest Road Extension has undergone construction. Beginning in spring 2022, city workers and the contractor, Fann Contracting Inc., began working on the road. Most of the first year of work involved activities most residents didn’t or couldn’t see atop the bluff overlooking State Route 89A, such as moving utilities and clearing the upper reaches.
But in the last six months, the work has gone like gang-busters as the city and contractor, in conjunction with the Sedona Fire District, used explosives to break up and move bedrock. Crews have worked diligently day in and day out over the last few months to literally move a mountain and work on building the road.
While the parcels in the area were privately owned, the very hilly terrain makes it nearly impossible to construct much of anything without significant engineering feats or millions of dollars of work to shore up the area. Short of an engineering marvel, like Glendon Good’s cliffside home and studio off Upper Red Rock Loop Road, it was likely nothing would ever be built on those sites, which was made more true by the simple fact that nothing has been built there in 100 years of private ownership.
To build the road, over the last few years, the city of Sedona wisely purchased rights of way to weave a path down from Forest Road to SR 89A along what appears to be a relatively gentle grade, similar to the one at the Hyatt Piñon Point to the east.
When complete, the extension will allow drivers in Uptown to bypass the “Y” roundabout both out of Uptown, allowing faster access to the state highway farther west down the road than trying to navigate out Uptown from Forest Road south past the Hyatt alongside all the vehicles that have no intention of heading west but instead want to turn south on to State Route 179, or by navigating through a narrow private parking lot at the Hyatt and still entering at the “Y,” only to also have to navigate the Brewer Road roundabout.
The bypass will let Uptown drivers skip both roundabouts and avoid southbound traffic.
Eastbound, the extension will also alleviate some of the congestion produced as drivers try to navigate the roundabouts at the “Y” by looping back at the Brewer Road roundabout and heading up the hill.
For those of us who work or live in Uptown, the bypass will be a significant improvement, allowing southbound traffic to exit onto State Route 89A after both roundabouts and exit Uptown neighborhoods. It also gives Uptown workers a back road to leave from the municipal parking lot or other parking areas rather than trying to fight State Route 89 traffic southbound to State Route 179 when they just want to get out and go home.
We sincerely hope the new road opens on schedule with no more unforeseen delays due to weather or large rocks that require explosives.
We congratulate city staff and the contractor for moving with efficiency and expediency to clear out this lower portion. Wholly visible to residents passing by, the speed of the work and the scope of the mountain’s removal demonstrates to residents bemoaning the slow speed of government that major capital projects can be completed quickly when governments and the private sector are united in a vision to get things done.
New lanes and new roads always improve traffic flow and we’re certain that this new extension will prove that in time.
The only drawback at this point is that when the road is complete it will likely be called “Forest Road,” considering the road does not deviate. This will cause confusion for drivers coming from West Sedona, who may be told go to “Forest Road” and not know if that means the extension or the old road in Uptown. Likewise, newer residents may only take the Forest Road Extension and give directions from that point to other destinations.
The “Forest Road at State Route 89A intersection” will physically be two places, hindering first responders too.
To avoid confusion, we suggest this modest proposal:
Rename the extension portion “Osburn Way.”
It would seem fitting to name this road after current Sedona City Manager Karen Osburn, who has long served the Sedona community both as a Sedona city manager and formerly as finance director of the Sedona Fire District. She’s the only such official to have served both agencies in such an extended capacity. Considering both agencies had a hand in the installation of the road, it is fitting and proper to honor her with this designation.
Osburn is departing the city of Sedona in April, so this would be a fitting permanent acknowledgement of her contributions to the city and a stamp on her legacy. We are not wedded to “Osburn Way;” the city could alternatively use parkway, boulevard, road or street.
We have named city roads after various prominent residents — Schebley Hill Road, Si Birch Memorial Highway, Owenby Way, Jordan Road — who used to live on or near these roadways. Seeing as how this is a new road, it is fitting to name it after a new generation of Sedona leaders. Renaming it will both alleviate confusion and honor one of our local leaders.
Christopher Fox Graham
Managing Editor
