A major construction project that will help remove a traffic bottleneck on Tucsonβs northwest side was approved Tuesday by the Arizona Corporation Commission.
The $120 million project set to begin this summer will remove the current Union Pacific railroad at-grade crossing at West Ina Road and replace it with a crossing that will have Ina Road pass over both the railroad tracks and Interstate 10.
Interstate 10 will be lowered to ground level at Ina Road and widened to eight lanes, while Ina Road will be rebuilt as a six-lane road with turn lanes, bicycle lanes and sidewalks, according to the commission.
The commissionβs duties include oversight of railroad safety.
Over several years, ADOT has invested more than $200 million in I-10 widening and improvement projects along the stretch of highway from 29th Street to Prince Road.
The two-year construction project means Ina Road will be closed for much of the construction period beginning as early as this fall, forcing eastbound motorists to exit at Cortaro and use either Cortaro Farms Road or Silverbell Road as a detour.
Westbound interstate traffic that otherwise would have exited at Ina will be diverted to Orange Grove Road.
