By Nikki Lee
Hello friends, and welcome to August. I cannot believe how quickly this year is flying by. As always, I hope this month’s article finds you and your family well. I know this year has been challenging and we have all had to adapt, and my family and I are in this with you. We are also re-learning how to juggle life while ensuring that our children hit their educational milestones now that the school year has started and our kids are learning online. We are still surrounded with uncertainties and I know we are all eager to get back to a life that looks like “normal”. As part of a public health campaign, the Mayor & each Council Member took a photo entitled “I Wear a Mask For”. I chose our front-line heroes, and represented in the photo are 911 Operators, healthcare professionals, military service members, police officers, EMTs and firefighters. These folks are on the front lines every day, and I am grateful for their sacrifices.
In May 2006, Pima County voters approved the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and a 20-year plan to improve infrastructure throughout the region. Part of the plan included major improvements to a 13-mile section of the Houghton Road Corridor from Interstate 10 to Tanque Verde Road. To date, five of the eight segments have been improved. The remaining segments within Ward 4 include: Valencia Road to Mary Ann Cleveland Way and 22nd Street to Irvington Road.
Valencia Road to Mary Ann Cleveland Way is the next segment to begin construction. The design work for this two-mile section began in August 2017 and is complete. Construction is scheduled to begin in Fall 2020 and is anticipated to be complete in Winter 2021. Improvements include a new six-lane divided roadway with new asphalt, dedicated turn lanes, concrete median curb, new bus bays, new roadway lighting, and a new traffic signal at the Rita Road intersection. There will also be an asphalt multi-use path, new all-weather cross drainage structures, public art, and native plant landscaping with water harvesting features.
Following the improvements from Valencia Road to MAC Way, work will soon begin to improve Houghton Road from 22nd Street to Irvington Road. Project design began in late 2016, construction is scheduled to begin in 2022. Improvements include a new six-lane divided roadway with new asphalt, a new northbound bridge across the Pantano Wash and widening the current bridge for southbound traffic, dedicated turn lanes, concrete curbs and gutters, new retaining walls, new bus bays, new roadway lighting, a new HAWK crosswalk at Secrist Middle School and signal upgrades for each of the three Houghton Road intersections at Old Spanish Trail, Golf Links Road and Escalante Road. There will be an asphalt multi-use path, new all-weather cross drainage structures, new water lines, public art and native plant landscaping with water harvesting features. Prior to implementing the roadway widening improvements, utilities will need to be relocated along this segment.
For more information on the Houghton Road Corridor Improvements you can visit http://www.houghtonroad.info or attend the Ward 4 Virtual Town Hall featuring a presentation from our Transportation and Mobility Director Diana Alarcon held on August 26, 2020 at 5:30pm. Please visit www.tucsonaz.gov/ward-4 for more information.
