As the Road Runner closes the last chapter of 2020, here are some of the transportation projects motorists are enjoying and others arriving in the new year.
A better south-side connection
This summer Tucsonans saw the years-long Interstate 19 and Ajo Way interchange completed. The improvements include widening Ajo Way and the southbound lanes on I-19 and adding an auxiliary lane for northbound traffic from Irvington Road to Ajo.
Two new bridges at Michigan Street and the Santa Cruz River went up in the area. Crews also installed sound walls to protect adjacent neighborhoods from the busy roadway.
Crews had been working on the project’s Phase 2 since July 2018.
Protection from the dust
The Arizona Department of Transportation is already helping guide drivers through a dangerous section of Interstate 10 prone to dust storms in 2020.
The dust detection warning system between Mileposts 209 and 219 in Eloy and Picacho Peak is supposed to deploy safety measures when measurable dust storms pop up. It lowers speed limits to 35 mph as visibility drops and ADOT engineers program signs to alert motorists in the area.
The need for the project was due to data showing 83 dust-related crashes, over 50% within a half-mile of each other, between 2010 and 2015.
During a 20-minute monsoon storm, motorists lowered their speeds once the system alerted them, and it will be deployed when more serious storms arrive.
Protection for neighborhood roads
Tucson’s “Slow Streets” initiative to prevent motorists from using neighborhoods as cut through paths has shown promise, the Tucson Department of Transportation and Mobility said.
Officials have moved forward with Phase 2 of the program, assigning neighborhood “block leaders” who will report back with residents’ input to department officials.
The first phase was set in the Feldman’s, Barrio Sin Nombre and Fairgrounds neighborhoods on a two-week rotation. Officials reconfigured the roads to temporarily limit them to local traffic using low-cost materials such as barricades, cones and signs.
Access for residents, emergency vehicles, environmental services and delivery vehicles are not blocked.
The focus is to make a way for all people to safely spend time outdoors while social distancing.
A new look for roads in 2021
Several projects in Tucson will be completed or see significant progress next year.
Completing the Sunshine Mile
The Broadway improvement project between Euclid Avenue and Country Club Road will cross the finish line by September 2021.
When completed, this section of East Broadway will have six travel lanes, landscaped medians, sidewalks, 16 bus pullouts, signalized pedestrian crossings and buffered bike lanes.
A better I-10 connection
The Houghton Road interchange project, which began in August, should see its completion by late 2021.
Crews are creating an interchange that will take motorists temporarily to the left side of Houghton while crossing the freeway. It allows for left turns onto I-10 entrance ramps without waiting at an additional traffic signal, ADOT said. It also prevents drivers from turning left and crossing traffic while entering the freeway on-ramp.
The site will feature six lanes of traffic as well as improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists.
A few miles north, construction on a Regional Transportation Authority project is taking place on Houghton between Mary Ann Cleveland Way and Valencia Road to create a new six-lane divided road.
Improvements also include dedicated turn lanes, bus bays, a new traffic signal at Rita Road and an asphalt multi-use path to be used by late 2021.
On the northwest side of Tucson, crews are working to complete a new I-10 interchange at Ruthrauff Road. The work includes building a bridge over I-10 and the railroad tracks and widening the interstate to four lanes in each direction as well as widening and rebuilding the streets at the interchange. Work is scheduled to be completed in late 2021, according to ADOT.
Kolb Road improvements
A large portion of work for North Kolb Road between North Sabino Canyon and East Sunrise Drive will be completed in 2021.
Kolb will be widened from a two-lane roadway to a three-lane road with multi-use paved shoulders suitable for bicycle use, sidewalks, drainage and landscaping.
The project is scheduled for completion by spring 2022.
