This year was a busy one for transportation projects and 2016 looks like it will be equally momentous.
Here are a few highlights from 2015 before we take a look forward to next year.
The city completed a multi-mile resurfacing on Grant Road, from about Columbus to near Mountain.
Road Runner heard no small amount of comments from readers about the formerly terrible state of Grant Road.
Today, however, Grant is one of the smoothest rides in town.
Of course, the city had no choice but to resurface the road because much it was so badly degraded its return to the Earth appeared imminent.
Widening and resurfacing of a large section of Valencia Road, another frequently maligned roadway, also was completed recently.
The Pima County-Regional Transportation Authority project wrapped up construction on the section between Alvernon Way and Wilmot Road in early December.
The long-delayed widening of Magee Road between Oracle Road and La Cholla was completed in October.
Westsiders were happy to see Silverbell Road resurfaced from about Goret Road to Camino Del Cerro.
This was another stopgap measure necessitated because the Arizona Department of Transportation plans to begin an extensive Interstate 10 construction project in the region.
The work will require diverting I-10 traffic onto Silverbell and county transportation officials knew the road in its previous state of disrepair would not have been able to handle the added traffic volumes.
With these and many other road projects in the can, here’s some of what you can expect in the first part of 2016.
A big project many eastsiders have anticipated for years kicked off recently.
The RTA plan to extend Sabino Canyon Road south to Kolb Road started in late December.
The 15-month project includes extending two lanes in each direction between Tanque Verde and Kolb roads, including construction of a bridge over the Pantano Wash.
The extension will link up with Kolb about a quarter mile north of Speedway.
This project is expected to alleviate congestion at two of the region’s most heavily trafficked intersections: Kolb and Tanque Verde and Sabino Canyon and Tanque Verde.
The Tucson Department of Transportation plans to get going on more of those $100 million, voter-approved, road recovery projects.
Expect to see a complete resurfacing of Campbell Avenue between Glenn Street and Fort Lowell Road to begin the first week of January.
Resurfacing of 22nd Street between Tucson Boulevard and Alvernon Way also is set to begin in early January.
Just east of Tucson International Airport crews plan to resurface Corona Road between Tucson and Country Club Road.
Resurfacing of Country Club, between Drexel and Los Reales roads will begin in early 2016. The exact date hasn’t been set.
The same for Kolb between Golf Links and Irvington roads; Alvernon between Fort Lowell and Speedway; and the Speedway and Main Avenue intersection.
You can also expect to see continued demolition and utility work happening along Grant Road between Stone and Park avenues in preparation for the long-awaited widening project.
Underground utility work also will continue as part of the Downtown Links project, the final leg of the Barraza-Aviation Parkway connection to the I-10 frontage road.
Crews from Century Link will be working for several months moving and realigning fiber optic lines in and around downtown areas near Toole and Sixth avenues.
And then there’s the work on I-10.
The Arizona Department of Transportation plans to begin work on a new interchange at I-10 and Ina Road.
The work includes widening the highway to four lanes in each direction, eliminating the at-grade railroad crossing and creating a new overpass for east-west traffic on Ina.
Expect at least two years of active construction work on this project.
Ina Road will be closed at the freeway for much of the construction period, so eastbound I-10 traffic will be directed to exit at Cortaro and use either Cortaro Farms Road or Silverbell Road.
Westbound interstate traffic will be diverted to Orange Grove Road.
Further to the southeast, ADOT continues the job of replacing the I-10 bridge at Davidson Canyon a few miles east of the Sonoita Mountain View Highway or State Route 83.
In addition to a new bridge, ADOT plans to resurface 17-miles of I-10 between State Route 83 and State Route 90 near Benson.
Expect ongoing construction and intermittent delays in that area until at least June.
There’s many more road projects planned in 2016, too many to list in this space. But Road Runner will do its best in the coming year to keep the readers up to date on all the major goings on.
Thanks to everyone who called and emailed with questions and comments throughout the year. Keep your questions coming.
Road Runner will do all it can to answer your queries, either directly or in this column.
Have a safe New Year.
