Pine Canyon lists its address as 1201 E. John Wesley Powell Blvd. That street now ends just east of Lone Tree Road. On Tuesday, September 8, 2026, Banicki Construction started work on the section that will carry it to Fourth Street. When the work is done, the boulevard will no longer stop short of the east side. The contractor calls the new road "a critical new arterial alignment" that will "provide an alternate route to Interstate 40."
The finish date is the end of 2028. Some changes come much sooner. They include the blasting and pipe work happening now, a bridge designed for animals as well as cars, and a fire station that depends on the November 3 vote.
A Street Planned Around Pine Canyon From the Start
The City has planned this extension for years. In January 2021, it invited property owners near South Fourth Street to a virtual meeting about "the future extension of JW Powell Boulevard, from Pine Canyon to Butler Avenue." So the City's own planning described the corridor as starting from this community.
The path from that meeting to this fall had several steps. From October 5, 2021, to July 7, 2022, City Council work sessions discussed a different route that could affect fewer property owners. An alternative alignment was chosen, and it became the route Council approved. On April 7, 2025, the City held a kick-off open house for the J.W. Powell Area Specific Plan. It had stations on transportation, land use, housing, trails, open space and wildlife.
The money was approved earlier still. The City's share, about $45 million, comes from the Proposition 419 transportation tax renewal that Flagstaff voters passed in 2018. That puts eight years between the vote and the start of construction.
What Started on September 8
The City's project page says the new road will look much like the J.W. Powell Boulevard that already passes Pine Canyon.
| Detail | What the City and contractor have published |
|---|---|
| Route | From the current end of the road, just east of Lone Tree Road, to Fourth Street |
| Lanes | One each way, with a center median |
| Other features | New underground utilities and multimodal amenities |
| Contractor | Banicki Construction |
| Design | Peak Engineering |
| City cost | About $45 million, from Proposition 419 |
| Start | Equipment moved in the week of August 31; work began Tuesday, September 8 |
| Expected finish | End of 2028 for the City's section and the other sections |
One detail on the City's page explains the timeline. The City is building only the middle part of the extension. The rest is "built by others via agreements with the City." In one place the page says the City's section will be done by the end of fall 2028. In another it says the end of 2028, and it expects the other sections to be done by then too. A connection to Fourth Street works only when every section is open. So 2028 depends on the private builders as well as the City's contractor.
The First Phase Is Mostly Underground
The early work is not paving. Banicki's August 18 announcement lists the first jobs:
- Rock blasting and crushing
- Large-scale earthwork
- 395 linear feet of 42-inch sewer interceptor pipe
- 2,698 linear feet of sewer main
- 4,931 linear feet of waterline
- 4,265 linear feet of storm drain
That waterline is almost a mile long, and the storm drain is about eight-tenths of a mile. This fall, the project is mostly about getting ground and pipe ready for a future road. Blasting and crushing come first.
Banicki has not published a blasting schedule, and no September or October lane-closure notice for the extension has turned up. Banicki and the City both send readers to jwpextension.com for construction updates. That site is the place to check before planning around the work.
A Bridge Built for What Already Crosses There
The most notable part of the design is where the road crosses the Rio de Flag. The City plans a double-span bridge about 85 feet long over the floodway. Its underside will sit about 12 feet above the ground, and the City says that height "will allow animals to cross under the roadway."
This matches what the City has said all along. Wildlife was one of the topics at the April 2025 specific-plan open house. Pine Canyon sits among ponderosa pines, and the bridge means the new road will span the drainage, not block it.
The "multimodal amenities" in the plans tie into the same idea. The August 18 community meeting showed one display board on the City's street network and another on its regional trail map. The City is planning the corridor for people walking and biking as well as driving.
The Piece That Depends on November 3
One part of the plan near the current end of the road is not funded yet. The City plans to design and build a fire station on City-owned land near the end of J.W. Powell, east of Lone Tree Road, with a drinking-water filling station as part of the same project. Both are part of the Fall 2026 Propositions 404 and 405.
The City's summary describes the two measures this way:
- Proposition 404: a proposed 0.5% increase in the local sales tax to pay for 77 more public-safety positions
- Proposition 405: a proposed $40 million bond for public-safety buildings and equipment, including a new fire station
The vote is on November 3. The City scheduled an educational open house on the measures for this evening, Wednesday, October 7, from 5 to 7 p.m. The road is paid for no matter how the vote goes, since that money was approved in 2018. The fire station at the current end of the road is the piece that depends on this election.
What Else Is Planned Along the Route
The City's project page also lists the land the new road will pass. It says Juniper Point, STL405 and Canyon del Rio are "in various stages of planning and construction of subdivision improvements." It says the Little America and Elk Ridge properties have no current development plans.
The City has not said which builders will do the non-City sections or how far along each one is in 2026. For now, the clearest public information is the City's own list of which properties are moving forward and which are not.
Lone Tree Comes First
One project nearby should finish long before the extension. Ames Construction's work on the Butler Avenue and Lone Tree Road corridor covered Butler Avenue between O'Leary Street and Lumber Street, plus Lone Tree Road between Butler Avenue and Sawmill Road. The City's February notice expected it to be done in December 2026. That notice set lane limits through August 14. It also said a revised traffic plan for August through December would be shared later.
In its June 4 notice, Mountain Line said the Butler Avenue work was finished. Routes 4 and 14 were still on detour because of work near Lone Tree, which it expected to last through November 2026. Those two notices are the latest published status, and the expected finish is a month or so apart: November in one, December in the other. Neither one confirms current conditions.
Further out, the City's Lone Tree Overpass page describes a planned bridge that would link Lone Tree Road between Butler Avenue and Route 66, with access for people walking and biking on the urban trail system. The project is still in design.
Put together, these dates show the order of events. Lone Tree's corridor work is expected to finish this winter. The fire station depends on the November 3 vote. Then the J.W. Powell extension has about two years of underground work, bridge building and paving left. The street Pine Canyon lists as its address still ends just past Lone Tree, but the work to carry it east has begun.
If you're curious how the J.W. Powell timeline might fit your plans for a home in Pine Canyon, Shane Randall and Marie-France Dagenais follow these changes on Flagstaff's south side and are happy to talk it through. Contact Us when you're ready to talk.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
