Cotton Lane Bridge opens in Goodyear

Goodyear's Cotton Lane Bridge opened this week, giving Estrella residents another route north to Interstate 10.

The $50 million bridge spans the Gila River at Cotton Lane, connecting Maricopa County 85 and Estrella Parkway. It is expected to relieve traffic from Estrella Parkway and provides additional access to the 2,000-acre King Ranch development planned just south of the river.

Estrella has about 3,400 homes and is planned to grow to nearly 50,000.

"As it was before, Estrella was one great big cul-de-sac," Estrella resident and Goodyear Councilman Frank Cavalier said Tuesday at a dedication ceremony. "It was becoming a problem even getting on the highway (I-10)."

The bridge has been largely complete since July but officials waited to open it until Ellman completed the road between Estrella Parkway and the bridge. Maricopa County, Goodyear, Ellman and Estrella developer Newland Communities each contributed about a quarter of the bridge's cost.

Crews broke ground in September 2006 but construction delays and an ownership change stretched the project past its original October 2007 target date.

Ellman purchased King Ranch from EP-The King LLC in July 2007, inheriting nearly $18.5 million owed to Goodyear for its share of the bridge and other expenses. It also took on responsibility for completing the road south of the bridge to Estrella Parkway.

Don Kile, Ellman's president of master-planned communities, said the company hopes to begin site work at King Ranch in mid-2010. The company is pursuing a lower-density project than originally envisioned and plans to build high-end homes.

"We'll take a little bit of a less-is-more approach to this property," Kile said.

At Tuesday's ceremony, Maricopa County Department of Transportation Director John Hauskins said the project provides a "critical link" with the county's southern area, which he thinks it will accelerate development.

"This is a very forward-thinking project," Hauskins said.