Thereβs a dilemma we face with large-scale road construction projects.
Such projects usually address serious infrastructure needs. However, they also create huge inconveniences during construction.
Thatβs what the region can expect beginning in early 2016 when the Arizona Department of Transportation begins work on the new Interstate 10 and Ina Road interchange.
βThis project is fulfilling the promise made in 2006,β said ADOT spokesman Dustin Krugel.
The project is part of Regional Transportation Authority and ADOT plans to expand and improve I-10 throughout much of Tucson.
Over several years, ADOT has invested more than $200 million in I-10 widening and improvement projects along the stretch of highway from 29th Street to Prince Road.
The Ina interchange adds to that ongoing work, widening the highway to four lanes in each direction, eliminating the at-grade railroad crossing and creating a new overpass for east-west traffic.
Itβs a much needed capacity expansion on a section of highway that averages nearly 88,000 cars every day.
The completed project will help alleviate the on-ramp bottlenecks at Ina Road.
But the two-year construction project will also create a giant regional headache for commuters.
Ina Road will be closed for much of the construction period, forcing eastbound motorists who otherwise would have exited at Ina to exit at Cortaro and use either Cortaro Farms Road or Silverbell Road.
County officials expect Silverbell to be an especially congested route during construction.
βThatβs why weβre resurfacing Silverbell now,β Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said.
In anticipation of the greatly increased traffic flows on Silverbell, the county plans to resurface the road from Ina south to Goret Road.
Itβs one of the many neglected and deteriorated roads in the countyβs inventory of bad roads.
The resurfacing will help smooth the ride, but itβs still going to be just one lane in each direction. County officials are anticipating huge bottlenecks at Camino del Cerro during the two-year construction period.
Westbound interstate traffic that otherwise would have exited at Ina will be diverted to Orange Grove Road.
Drivers can expect even more traffic at the already congested intersection of Orange Grove and Thornydale.
The good news is once the project is done, I-10 will be widened enough to accommodate four travel lanes in each direction, Ina west of the freeway will be widened to two lanes in each direction, and a new bridge over the Santa Cruz with a pedestrian underpass will be completed.
The project is still in the final design phase, but Krugel said ADOT has every expectation that construction will begin on time.
βWeβre still on track to start in the spring,β he said.
ADOT also plans to hold another public meeting on the project, probably in the fall or a little later. Road Runner will keep readers posted when the date is set.
While this project completes another section of I-10 capacity expansion and improvements, itβs not the last.
Once the Ina interchange is done, ADOT plans to start work on a similar interchange project for Ruthrauff Road/El Camino del Cerro.
That wonβt begin until about 2018 or later, and will last another few years.
Basically, I-10 on the northwest side will be a colossal construction zone until about 2020.
No one ever said progress would be simple.
Down the road
The Pima County Department of Transportation will begin construction of the Coronado School Walkway and Bike Path Safety Improvement project on Monday.
The project includes construction of a 1-mile long, 8-foot-wide multiuse path thatβs compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The east-west segment of the path will run on the north side of Wilds Road to Bowman Road.
The north-south segment will be on the west side of Bowman Road from Wilds Road to Golder Ranch Drive.
From Tuesday through Aug. 3, prep work for the sewer interceptor line-rehab project will begin in the area of Tanque Verde Road between Pantano and Woodland roads.
Work includes installing sewer bypass piping, removing the median and restriping the roadway along eastbound Tanque Verde Road.
Construction is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Motorists can expect lane closures at various times throughout the day.
Reader question
A reader asked Road Runner why the intersection at Harrison Road and Broadway allows U-turns for east-west traffic but not north-south traffic.
The reader said the lack of a U-turn on Harrison Road forces him to take a circuitous route to his final daily destination.
Road Runner asked the Tucson Department of Transportation about this, and hereβs the response:
βThe intersection of Broadway and Harrison was reconstructed about 10 years ago, as part of the Harrison Road widening between Speedway and Old Spanish Trail. Staff does not recall why the U-turn prohibition was instituted for the Harrison Road approaches, but we will investigate the current conditions and remove the prohibition if appropriate.β
