City and county leaders have moved closer to breaking ground on a much-needed bridge construction project.
The Tucson City Council last week approved a collection of contracts that get the ball rolling on the Houghton Road bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.
“Right now there’s a bridge there that has been deemed structurally deficient,” said M.J. Dillard, the city’s project manager for the Houghton bridge.
The joint city, county, Regional Transportation Authority bridge project is part of the multi-year RTA Houghton Road plan. That plan, much of it already completed, includes widening Houghton from Interstate 10 more than 10 miles north to Tanque Verde Road.
Dillard said the bridge rebuild would be done in two sections.
Essentially two bridges, workers would keep the existing bridge open while the first section gets built. Traffic would then be directed to the new section while the old part is decommissioned. The final structure will look like two parallel bridges. When it’s done, there will be three travel lanes in each direction.
The project is long overdue, considering the age and condition of the bridge and the traffic volumes that section of Houghton sees.
On any given day, more than 20,000 vehicles cross the bridge.
Given its age— it was originally built in 1962 — a weight restriction on vehicles weighing no more than 36,000 pounds has been in place for more than 20 years.
“It’s beyond 50 years of service life,” said Dave Zaleski, Pima County’s bridge engineer.
Zaleski said the bridge is safe for normal commuter traffic, but large trucks are not permitted to use it. A fully loaded semi-truck can weigh in at as much as 80,000 pounds. The county has a detour in place for large trucks that have to use that section of Houghton.
The aging bridge has other anomalies as well: its shape, for instance.
Zaleski said the tortoise-shell shape of the bridge doesn’t provide adequate sightlines by current standards. That will change with the new bridge, which will appear more flat and level.
And then there’s the issues with bats.
About four species of bats — as many as 4,000 of them — make their warm season homes beneath the bridge.
The protected status of the bats presents logistical challenges for construction.
Zaleski said workers would wait until the bats return to their winter homes in Mexico, then use expandable foam to seal the crevices in the underside of the old bridge where they roost. Regulations do not permit demolition of a bridge with an active population of roosting bats.
Specially designed bat houses will later be installed on the new bridge.
“We have to provide for the bats to return,” Zaleski said.
Funding has brought up some questions recently as well. Total project costs are estimated at about $14 million.
Although the bridge stands in the county, the city is the lead agency on the project.
City transportation officials plan to secure more than $8.3 million in federal highway funding for the project. The remaining funds would come from the county and the RTA.
Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik questioned an aspect of the plan that would have mandated the city itself come up with the $8 million portion if federal funding proves unavailable.
Kozachik was concerned the city might be on the hook for money it doesn’t have.
Rather than have the city make an administrative decision to step in with funding if the feds can’t pay, he and the council now will make a policy decision, if needed.
Dillard said she doesn’t think that will be necessary.
“It’s guaranteed,” she said of the federal funding component.
Work on the bridge could begin as soon as early next year.
Down the road
- Work continues on the east side on 22nd Street, where Southwest Gas has been working on a pipeline-improvement project between Sarnoff Drive and Gollob Road. Work is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. In some cases, extended hours may be necessary.
It is expected to be completed in November.
- City crews are installing a series of median islands, conducting landscaping improvements and repairing sidewalks as part of a beautification project along a stretch of Campbell Avenue. Work between Grant and Fort Lowell roads will continue through most of November.
Reader question
A reader wants to know when the city plans to resurface sections of Valencia Road near Tucson International Airport.
The reader was concerned that Valencia doesn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for visitors to the area, what with its potholes, washboarding and other asphalt conditions too numerous to describe.
The good news is the city does plan to resurface Valencia from about 12th Avenue east to Alvernon Way. The work is part of a $100 million road-recovery bond plan voters passed a few years back.
The not-so-good news is that drivers, and visitors, will have to endure the poor conditions in that area for a few more years.
Resurfacing is scheduled to start some time in 2017.
