Featured photo: The pedestrian signal on Acoma Boulevard at Pima Drive is seen here in 2021 shortly before its activation on the busy roadway that’s set to get new pavement this summer. Photo courtesy of Arizona Department of Transportation.
LAKE HAVASU CITY — All of Acoma Boulevard through Lake Havasu City is set for new pavement this summer as part of an $8 million project the city has planned.
Workers are already conducting various water main replacements along Acoma, which is one of Havasu’s lynchpin roads winding its way through town.
“It will go from (State Route) 95 (on the north end) to 95 (on the south end),” City Manager Jess Knudson said of the expansive work ahead. He said the plan has been to get utilities under the roadway fixed before the new pavement in the months ahead. “It should be a really smooth road (once completed).”
The update on the project was given recently at the Coffee with the Mayor and City Manager. Mayor Cal Sheehy said the work is expected to begin in July.
The highly trafficked road faired poorly in a pavement condition index the city conducted and as a result, the work, including the water main replacements, was OK’d as part of the 2025- 26 fiscal year budget and the 2026-27 fiscal year budget – $4 million for each year.
Lake Havasu City’s roads are not mapped out in a grid-like manor. Acoma Boulevard, McCulloch Boulevard and Palo Verde Boulevard bend like spaghetti through the city. Acoma Boulevard intersects with State Route 95 on the north near Industrial Boulevard and intersects with State Route 95 on the south side with an adjoining Maricopa Avenue.
In other road news, Sheehy said fog seal and chip seal work is coming up in April. All the work is guided by the pavement condition index review the city conducted so the city is making informed decisions based on data, he added.
Also, Sheehy and Knudson touched on the city’s ongoing update of the general plan.
We’re very happy with how that’s unfolding,” Knudson said of the citizen involvement and efforts made on the general plan.
One aspect that residents have made a point of in the general plan discussions involves shoreline preservation including near That Beach on the Island and ensuring continued public access in the Bridgewater Channel, Knudson said. Public access is important for future generations to enjoy, he added.
An updated general plan would need City Council approval and then voter approval in the November general election.