With a regional position in Tempe, Rosendin officials offer insight into how portions of streetcar tracks were built for the Valley Metro Tempe Streetcar Project.

Crews spent more than three years building the region’s first modern streetcar line along busy roads and shopping areas that remained open during construction, according to a press release.

The 3-mile loop will serve Arizona State University, Downtown Tempe, and residential neighborhoods, the release states.

To ensure the safety of workers and the public during construction, much of the work was concentrated during Arizona’s summers, when foot and vehicle traffic are drastically reduced but daily temperatures skyrocket to 110 degrees.

“Rosendin has a deep appreciation for all the Valley construction workers who worked long hours to keep this project on schedule while reducing the impact on ASU students, Mill Avenue businesses, and the community,” said Ben Mlinar, Rosendin division manager, in a prepared statement.

“We are thankful for our partnership with the IBEW — International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers — for supporting our needs for a robust workforce and to general contractor Stacy and Witbeck for keeping this complex project moving forward.”

During the pandemic, construction workers were deemed essential and remained on the job with enhanced safety protocols.

Additional complexities included the use of hybrid technology to power the streetcar using an overhead catenary system in some areas and a lithium-ion battery, onboard energy storage system in areas such as Downtown Tempe, gateway intersections, and the city’s first roundabout at Tempe Beach Park.

“We greatly appreciate our subcontractors like Rosendin that were essential parts of the Tempe team, the businesses and academic community along the alignment, and all other stakeholders for their contributions and support during construction,” said Brian Dagsland, project manager of the effort of Stacy and Witbeck.

“We’re proud to be able to deliver this project for Valley Metro to the community and couldn’t have done it without the local subcontracting community, project partners, and stakeholders.”

A total of 640 electrical workers installed 120,000-plus feet of electrical conduit, 400 ground rods, and 75 vaults for the Streetcar’s single-track and double-track alignments.

They also performed underground work, installed ground grids and power to all 14 passenger stations to support lighting, vertical and horizontal shading, public art created by local artists, and landscaping, the release states.

Stantec Consulting Services designed the project and Brookville Equipment built the streetcars with sleek passenger compartments painted white and bright green for high visibility. Testing began on June 28 to ensure the system and signals operate in the safest way possible.