Start of huge interstate project in Tucson pushed back

The Arizona Department of Transportation has been preparing for months to begin a major project that would improve the Interstate 19-West Irvington Road traffic interchange.

Construction was initially scheduled to begin in mid-to-late 2025. But construction on the 18-month project will now kick off in January 2026, says Steve Elliott, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Transportation.

He cited two reasons for the delay: It was taking the project team longer than expected to get through the environmental and right-of-way clearance required for any project using federal funds; and pushing the start to January 2026 means businesses there would be affected for one holiday shopping season instead or two.

The decision to push back construction until 2026 was made by ADOT after a mid-October public hearing when construction was still being planned to start in 2025, Elliott said.

The project is intended to improve traffic flow and safety by reconstructing the existing interchange and adding a partial cloverleaf ramp for traffic on eastbound Irvington to get onto northbound I-19, the department says.

Once complete, the existing on-ramps will be widened, and new traffic signals, lights and signage will installed. And pedestrian and bicycle improvements will be done on both sides of Irvington, the department says.

The project will be able to accommodate anticipated traffic levels for the next 20 years, ADOT said during an October presentation. It will cost an estimated $55 million, said ADOT spokesman Garin Groff.

Regardless of the project’s start date, the surrounding areas are sure to be impacted by the construction, but the lasting effects once the interchange is completed will be “essential for the economic vitality of our region,” Rob Elias, president and CEO of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, told the Star.

“While construction always presents temporary challenges for businesses near the interchange and those dependent on cross-border traffic, the long-term benefits are promising,” he said. “This project also plays a crucial role in shaping the perception of Tucson as a destination for prospective businesses. Companies considering our region for expansion often evaluate infrastructure readiness and ease of access for customers, employees, and logistics. A modern, efficient interchange signals that Tucson is forward-thinking and prepared for future growth.”

And while improvements to the interchange “will undoubtedly enhance accessibility,” benefit local businesses and increase economic activity, Elias says “there is uncertainty about whether they will be enough.”

“Ingress and egress from nearby retail and shopping centers may also need to be addressed. As someone who has personally sat through multiple light cycles just to exit this area, I can attest to the frustration this causes,” Elias said.

“However, the silver lining is that such traffic challenges are a positive indicator — they mean people are coming to the area to shop, dine and enjoy local businesses.”

The interchange project will help address growth in one of the major corridors of the Tucson region into the future, Michael Guymon, president and CEO of the Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce, said.

But as with “other major projects” in Tucson as of late, he said, “we have had member businesses share how difficult and impactful these infrastructure projects can be in the short-term.”

“Some of them have advocated for and looked at grants to help area businesses make it through financially as foot traffic changes and slows during construction,” he said. “We appreciate ADOT’s commitment to ensuring pedestrian and business access, and we will continue to partner with our member businesses in the area to make sure that doing business is impacted as little as possible when the project begins.”

Yolanda Herrera, president of nearby Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, says that while she and her neighbors know the work is necessary due to the interchange’s bottleneck of traffic, “the impact on the neighborhood is going to be horrible.”

“We absolutely need a wider access, ingress to Irvington Road because it’s so bottlenecked. They did that a little bit on I-19, which helped a little, but I don’t know if you’ve ever driven on Irvington between 4 and 5:30 (p.m.) or even on Valencia,” she said. “It’s just going to be a horrible bottleneck for next, what, two years? ... I just think it’s going to be a worse nightmare, because people will be taking a side street ... we have a lot of schools in those areas, so that’s what my main concern is.”

On the economic impacts, Herrera said that while the end result may be a better situation for shoppers trying to access areas like Tucson Spectrum, the construction may limit shoppers’ ability to get to retailers in the interim.

“It’s like COVID hitting all over again, but in a traffic situation instead of a health situation,” she said. “People don’t drive very safe as it is ... (drivers) are going to get frustrated. When they get frustrated, they do not-so-smart things, like cutting others off.”