Tumamoc Hill

Tumamoc Hill was closed to walkers Jan. 22 while the road was repaved. The University of Arizonaโ€™s Desert Lab is on the hill, and many Tucsonans use the road up for exercise.

Tucsonans may find a newly paved Tumamoc Hill ready for use Monday morning, but only if weather permits.

Tumamoc is supposed to reopen at 6 a.m., but rain forecast for Sunday may cause a delay of up to two days for the road, which closed Jan. 22 for repaving.

The $200,000 project is equally funded by the University of Arizona and a UA College of Science crowdfunding campaign to improve the 1.5-mile road for walkers and researchers. So far, donors have raised 90 percent of the campaignโ€™s $100,000 goal for the crowdfunded portion of the project.

A ribbon-cutting celebration scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 9, at 10 a.m. will also take place at the site, which was designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1976.

โ€œThe new road is the first of many great things to come. It will enhance a site hundreds of Tucsonans use every day for health and rejuvenation and allow us to continue to execute the Desert Labโ€™s mission of research and education,โ€ said Ben Wilder, the UAโ€™s director of Tumamoc Hill.


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Contact Star reporter Shaq Davis at 573-4218 or sdavis@tucson.com

On Twitter: @ShaqDavis1