In the summer of 2018, a group of Arcadia neighbors booked classrooms on the southwest side of the Prince of Peace Church campus, at the northeast corner of Indian School Road and 56th Street. They held three Wednesday meetings at 7 p.m. about a street most of them drove every day. The group called itself SAVES and Connects 56th St. Its letter to neighbors, posted on the Arcadia Camelback Mountain Neighborhood Association's 56th St. Blog, described the goal as a corridor where people could "safely connect with schools, parks and the AZ Canal trail system," and it promised that "drainage from the mountain will be addressed by the project as well."
Eight years later, crews are at work. The City of Phoenix started construction on 56th Street between Thomas Road and Camelback Road on October 12, 2026, and expects to finish in Fall 2028. The order of the work matters for anyone who drives this road every day. Crews started at the south end. The piece neighbors pushed for hardest, a rebuilt signal at Camelback and 56th, sits at the other end.
The project neighbors started
Phoenix's project page calls this a "community-driven project." That holds up on the record. The Street Transportation Department ran three open houses for the 56th Street Corridor Study, and about 330 residents came to give input on design and street layout options. The 2018 letter also explains why things moved fast at first. The group cited "a 5 year funding period from ADOT that we cannot delay," and set out to submit a high-level design plan to the city by November 1, 2018.
After that early push, the project moved slowly:
- 2018: Three neighborhood meetings at Prince of Peace Church
- May 2022: Final design begins on the full project
- December 2023: The Arizona Republic reports the 1.5-mile street will see its transformation in 2025
- March 3, 2026: Three construction bids received
- May 20, 2026: City Council approves the contractor
- October 12, 2026: Construction begins
So construction began about a year and a half after the Republic's 2025 forecast. The finish date is two years past the start.
Why the south half went first
Phoenix runs the corridor as two capital projects with separate numbers. They are numbered in the opposite order from the work.
| City label | Stretch of 56th Street | Project number | Where it falls in the work order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Indian School Road to Camelback Road | ST87210049 | After the south end |
| Phase 2 | Thomas Road to Indian School Road | ST87210047 | Under way now |
The city's October 2 construction notice says work "will initially begin at the south end of the project, focusing on the area between Thomas Road and Indian School Road." The project page lists construction on both phases as starting in October 2026. Taken together, the whole corridor is under contract, and the first equipment went to the southern mile.
Arcadia Park, at 3402 N. 56th St., is on that first stretch. Prince of Peace, where the 2018 meetings happened, sits right where the two phases meet at Indian School. The city's corridor study map marks both, along with the Arizona Canal Trail, as landmarks along the route. The neighborhood association described the corridor's purpose as connecting people to parks and the canal, and the first segment under construction is the one that reaches the park.
The Camelback signal belongs to the second half
During public engagement, residents asked the city for one specific change. They wanted left-turn arrows at Camelback and 56th, both for turning from eastbound Camelback onto 56th and from 56th onto westbound Camelback. The city's project page, under the heading "You Asked, We Listened!," says the design goes further with a complete signal rebuild:
- Green, solid yellow, red and flashing yellow arrows for every approach
- A dedicated left-turn lane for northbound 56th Street
- Pedestrian push buttons and countdown timers on all four approaches
- New ADA ramps on all corners
That intersection is at the north end of Phase 1. The construction notice describes only the south-end start, and the city hasn't published when crews will move north of Indian School. For now, anyone waiting to turn left off Camelback at 56th is still using the signal that prompted the request.
The notice says signals will be updated at five intersections along the corridor in total.
What the finished street adds
The design reflects the problems neighbors raised in 2018:
A 10-12' multi-use path for younger cyclists, school-age children, families and pedestrians
That's how the city describes the main feature. The multi-use path will run continuously on both the west and east sides of 56th Street.
The drainage the 2018 letter promised is a 24-inch storm drain running the full length of 56th Street from Thomas to Camelback. The plans also include low-water-use shade trees beside the sidewalk and path, upgraded ADA curb ramps and sidewalks, and traffic-calming features meant to slow cars down. The city's diagrams show three typical cross sections: one with no landscape buffer between traffic and the path, one with a buffer on one side, and one with buffers on both sides.
On cost, Phoenix's own estimate was $26,430,460.50. The council approved Hunter Contracting Co. as the lowest-priced responsive bidder, with fees capped at $25,456,930.40, so the cap came in under the estimate. The council report also lists lighting and possible pavement preservation in the work.
What the city hasn't settled in public yet
Exeter Boulevard is the clearest open question. The project page still lists "possible changes or improvements to the existing roundabout at Exeter Boulevard." The October notice uses broader wording: "improvements at the Exeter Boulevard intersection to improve safety and traffic flow." Neither document says whether the roundabout stays, changes shape, or gets replaced.
Lane restrictions and detours haven't been published either. The notice promises that "additional construction notices will be provided as specific work activities and traffic changes are scheduled." Here's what is set:
- Standard hours: Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Exceptions: Some night and weekend work may be scheduled "when necessary to minimize impacts to the community."
- Updates: You can sign up through the QR code on the notice or at phoenix.gov/streets/56thStreet.
- Direct contact: Call the project hotline at 623-825-3444 or email [email protected].
The city's project page links to the June 2026 final project map and the 90 percent design roll plots, which are the most detailed plans available for any particular block.
The canal corridor, five weeks out
The Arizona Canal Trail is one of the connections the 2018 group wanted 56th Street to serve. The next big community event on that trail is a few blocks east of the work zone. The third annual Arcadia Turkey Trot is set for Thursday, November 26, 2026, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., starting at Arcadia Falls, 5802 E. Indian School Road. It's a canal walk/run of under three miles that benefits Good Soles. Organizers ask people to arrive at 8 a.m. for coffee from Hendy's Coffee and pastries from Noble Bread.
Thanksgiving is a Thursday, and standard construction hours are weekdays. If you're driving to Arcadia Falls on 56th from the south, check the city's latest notice the week before.
Over the next two years, the 56th Street rebuild will change how this part of Arcadia moves. If you'd like to talk through how the corridor work affects a specific block or property, Shawn Keeler is glad to help. Let's Connect.
