For residents of the northwest side who have endured the long construction project on North Oracle Road, you’re almost out of the weeds.
The Arizona Department of Transportation has been working for more than a year on a list of improvements to the busy state highway.
The work includes an additional travel lane in each direction from Tangerine Road to Pinal County, 10-foot wide shoulders, raised center medians, left-turn lanes in the Catalina area, retaining walls, sound barriers, traffic-signal improvements, drainage improvements and two wildlife crossing structures.
Road Runner drove this stretch of highway last week to check the progress, and while it looks like it might be done, ADOT officials say there’s still some work to do.
Work on the project is being halted for a few months later in February for a planned “winter shutdown,” state officials said.
Part of the reason for the shutdown is that it needs to be warmer before crews can lay down the final layer of rubberized asphalt.
That work, along with restriping the lanes, is scheduled for a two-week run in June.
Meanwhile, ADOT has removed the signage for reduced speed limits as well as a lot of the construction barriers.
All told, ADOT has spent about $34 million on the job.
A separate funding source was used for the two wildlife crossings installed as part of the project.
The Regional Transportation Authority dropped $11 million for the wildlife overpass near the Pinal County line and an underpass about a mile south near Big Wash Overlook Place.
The structures are intended to provide links for wildlife crossing between the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Tortolita Mountains.
Previous studies and roadkill analyses have found these two areas had the highest animal and automobile collisions on the northwest side.
If you’re wondering how the animals figure out how to use these things, it’s pretty simple.
No, not through signage, as someone invariably will email to ask or snarkily comment on a website. Rather, fencing and natural barriers direct animals through the crossings.
Take the overpass near the county line. Existing residential development in Catalina and tall fencing adjacent to the highway effectively funnel animals moving west onto the bridge.
Fences on the west side of Oracle will also push eastbound animals to the overpass.
Further south, the underpass takes advantage of the natural lay of the land to direct animals through.
It’s essentially a culvert, directing rainwater and runoff from the higher elevations in the foothills to the east toward Big Wash and its tributaries in the west.
It’s fairly well-established science that wildlife use the dry river beds and washes as natural pathways, and this underpass simply takes advantage of that.
These crossings also have been proven to work in Arizona and states all around the West. ADOT built wildlife bridges in Mohave County that bighorn sheep, deer and other creatures use frequently.
If you still wonder why these wildlife crossings are even built, it’s because Pima County voters asked for them.
In 2006, residents approved a $2 billion RTA roadway infrastructure improvement plan that included $45 million for wildlife crossings.
Down the road
Resurfacing of Country Club Road from Los Reales Road to Drexel Road has begun. The work will continue until later this month.
A free shuttle service for Gem Show attendees will be available for the remainder of the week.
The Tucson Department of Transportation’s Park Tucson Division will provide parking at the Downtown West Hub at 700 W. Congress and parking at regular rates at the City’s Centro, Depot Plaza and Pennington Street garages.
The service will run daily through Sunday, Feb. 14.
The routes include the Downtown Gem Loop, the shows from Sixth Street to 25th Street, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Mineral and Fossil Loop, the shows between Downtown and Grant Road, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. ; and the Kino Gem Loop, for shows south and east of Kino Sports Complex, from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Parking and other information is available at www.GemRide.com
