In an effort to improve safety for students being dropped off at Snowflake Junior High School, Navajo County, the towns of Snowflake and Taylor, the Snowflake Unified School District and private companies across the community came together to pave and improve access to SJHS and the surrounding communities. The project, which has already resulted in the completion of the paving and realigning of Rodeo Road in Snowflake, will feature a new parent drop-off point at the back of the school that will allow families to bypass the bus drop-off area and avoid traffic congestion. “This new drop-off will improve safety and help our residents avoid crossing traffic on the highway during the busiest times of the day,” Snowflake Unified School District Superintendent Hollis Merrill said. The project began with the paving of Rodeo Road in Snowflake to provide buses and local traffic a new outlet to Centennial Blvd. This allows school buses to easily access neighborhoods in western Snowflake and Taylor, as well as avoiding a potentially dangerous left turn onto SR 77 from the school parking lot or Rodeo Road. “Mike Morgan was integral in bringing this project together for the school,” Merrill said. “We had exhausted every possibility with ADOT (Arizona Department of Transportation) trying to get this project started, so Mike and Terry Cooper came up with the idea to develop a new drop-off area in conjunction with the paving of Rodeo Road.” Brimhall Sand & Rock provided the materials needed to complete the project. Any associated costs with the new road is being split by the towns of Snowflake and Taylor, and crews from the Town of Snowflake will be laying the asphalt free of charge. “The whole community came together to make this project happen,” District III Supervisor Jason Whiting said. “This will be great for the school district as well as all members of the public, because it provides another much needed cut-through for residents to access the rest of the community.” Private land owners also donated property to the project to help straighten Rodeo Road, making the cut through much easier to navigate between SR 77 and Centennial Blvd. “We are grateful for the partnerships that took place on this project to help improve safety and community access for both the junior high and surrounding neighborhoods,” said Snowflake Vice-Mayor Kerry Ballard. Work will continue around the junior high throughout the summer.
