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Downtown Tucson

Access To Pennington Street Prohibited

Beginning on Monday, June 17, 2013, access to West Pennington Street from eastbound Congress Street/Broadway will be prohibited to allow work crews to reconstruct the roadway in preparation for new asphalt. Access to West Pennington Street from westbound Congress will be allowed. The left turn restriction to West Pennington Street from Congress/Broadway will be in place for approximately two weeks.

Access to the south side of City Hall, West Pennington Street, Pima County Administration and the Pima County Court Complex parking garages can be accessed by westbound Congress Street only. Please see the pdf map for detour directions.

During this work, eastbound Broadway traffic will be shifted to the south side of the roadway. At least one eastbound Broadway travel lane will be maintained at all times. All through and turn movements will be maintained at the intersection of Granada Avenue and Congress Street/Broadway.

Travelers to downtown during construction are also reminded that there is pedestrian access to all businesses and venues and that there are 15,000 parking spots in the area. A map of downtown parking information can be found by visiting www.tucsonstreetcar.com/documents/DowntownParking_0113.pdf

For more information, please visit www.tucsonstreetcar.com to subscribe to email updates, visit the project Facebook page, and sign up for Twitter, or call the information line at (520) 624 -5656.

Southwest Gas

Lane Restrictions at Camino Pio Decimo & Tanque Verde

Southwest Gas’s contractor, Northern Pipeline, will begin maintenance work Monday, June 17 at the southeast corner of Tanque Verde Road and Camino Pio Decimo. As a result, the outside east-bound lane of Tanque Verde proceeding along Wrightstown to Pantano will be closed from 9:00 p.m. until 6 a.m., each evening, Monday, June 17 through Friday, June 21.

Southwest Gas conducts periodic preventive maintenance and replacement on its pipelines to make certain that its customers continue to receive safe, reliable natural gas service. Other than traffic inconvenience, customers will not be affected.

Pima County

Alvernon Way Pavement Preservation Project

On Monday, June 17 through Wednesday June 19, 2013, Pima County Department of Transportation along with its contractor, Granite Construction, will be milling and paving Alvernon Way between Sahuarita Road and Dawson Road.

Hours of operations will be each day from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Work is expected to be completed within three (3) days.

Traffic will be directed through the work zone area by flaggers and pilot car.

Pima County

Routine Bridge Inspections to Impact Traffic

On Tuesday, June 18, 2013, Pima County Department of Transportation along with HDR Engineering and their subcontractor, Penhall Company, will begin a series of bridge deck inspections. Sample cores will be taken on the days and locations listed below.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.:
• Madera Canyon Bridge: an inspection of two bridges along Madera Canyon Road will be performed. The roadway will require a closure at both approaches to the bridge due to the narrowness of the bridge. The closure will be a minimum of 30 minutes.
• Soledad Avenue Bridge: An inspection of the bridge located near Thornydale and Magee Road will be performed. Traffic will be directed through the work zone area by flaggers.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.:
• Greaterville Road Bridge: The bridge is located off State Route 83. Traffic will be directed through the work zone area by flaggers.
• Marsh Station Road Bridge: The bridge is located on Marsh Station Road and traffic will be directed through the work zone area by flaggers.
• Soldier Trail Bridge: The bridge is located on Mt. Lemmon Short Road. Traffic will be directed through the work zone area by flaggers.

Please approach the areas with caution and obey all traffic control devices.
In the event of mechanical failure or inclement weather, the work schedule will be subject to change.

City of Tucson

Houghton Road: Irvington Road to Valencia Road

On Tuesday, June 18, 2013 and Wednesday, June 19, 2013, the City of Tucson Department of Transportation and Hunter Contracting will be paving the north side of Valencia Road at the Houghton Road Intersection. The work will begin 6 a.m. each day and is scheduled to be complete by 10 a.m. each day. Traffic will be reduced to one travel lane, with flaggers and Tucson police officers present to direct traffic.

On Thursday, June 20, 2013, at 2 a.m., there will be another four hour period where traffic will also be reduced to one lane at this same intersection. Flaggers and Tucson police officers will be present to direct traffic. Approximately three weeks after this work is complete, traffic will be shifted to the new area of paving.

On Tuesday, June 25, 2013 and Wednesday, June 26, 2013, the City of Tucson Department of Transportation and Hunter Contracting will pave the west side of Houghton Road at the Irvington Road intersection. The work will begin at 6 a.m. each day and is scheduled to be complete by 10 a.m. each day.
Traffic will be reduced to one travel lane, with flaggers and Tucson police officers present to direct traffic.

On Thursday, June 27, 2013, at 2 a.m., there will be another four hour period of time where traffic will also be reduced to one lane at this same intersection. Flaggers and Tucson police officers will be present to direct traffic. Approximately three weeks after this work is complete, traffic will be shifted to the new area of paving.

Pima County

Houghton Road Pavement Preservation Project

On Monday, June 10 through Monday June 17, 2013, Pima County Department of Transportation along with its contractor, Granite Construction, will be milling and paving Houghton Road from Andrade Road to just north of Camino del Toro (excluding the intersection of Houghton Road and Sahuarita Road).

Hours of operations will be each day from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Work is expected to be completed within one week.

Traffic will be directed through the work zone area by flaggers and pilot car.

Sun Link Tucson Streetcar

Downtown Tucson Traffic Control Changes

Motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians should prepare for extensive traffic control changes in the downtown area. Officers will be on site at several locations to direct travelers and pedestrians through the area during peak traffic times. Please plan for additional travel time while these temporary traffic control changes are in place. Motorists should consider using Speedway Boulevard or 22nd Street as alternate routes.

Please see the Tucson Streetcar website for detailed information.

City of Tucson 2013 Pavement Preservation Program

Broadway - Wilmot Road To Pantano Road Repaving Project

On Tuesday, April 30, 2013, Southern Arizona Paving and Construction Co., under contract with the City of Tucson Department of Transportation (TDOT), will begin a repaving project to improve Broadway between Wilmot Road and Pantano Road. The work involves lowering existing water valve covers and manhole covers, milling (removing asphalt), repaving, temporary striping and raising utility covers flush with the new asphalt.

The project is scheduled to be complete in late June 2013. For the first two weeks of the project, work crews will lower existing water valve covers and manhole covers. This work will take place between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

During the milling and repaving portion of the improvement project, work crews will work from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. to minimize the impact on the traveling public. Following the milling portion of the project, there will be intermittent day work taking place as work crews prep the milled surface for new asphalt.

At least two lanes of travel in each direction on Broadway will be maintained during this improvement project. Electronic message boards are in place to inform motorists of this upcoming work.

Pima County

The Loop Expands with Bike Lane Project on Rita Road

On Monday, May 6, through June 30, 2013 between the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Pima County Public Works Management Department, along with their contractor, Granite Construction, will install new bike lanes on Rita Road just south of Old Vail Road.

The project scope includes the reconfiguration of roadway to allow for the installation of new bike lanes starting at the north side of the Union Pacific Railroad and continuing north to Old Vail Road. This project is part of “The Loop” system.

Traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel in each direction. Motorists driving through the work zone area can expect periodic delays during this project.

In the event of mechanical failure or inclement weather, the construction schedule will be subject to change.

City of Tucson

City to double parking rate downtown to $1 per hour

Arizona Daily Star

If you drive downtown, you'll be paying double to park at a meter - once downtown streets are re-opened enough for anyone to drive there and reach a parking meter.

Rate increases downtown are slated to take effect next April, when most of the construction for the new streetcar should be complete.

In addition, Parkwise will replace existing meters downtown and at the University of Arizona with smart meters, which allow drivers to pay at a centralized location using a credit or debit card in addition to coins. Parkwise will also modernize the technology at its parking garages.

Read more at azstarnet.com

City of Tucson

Parkwise Wants Rate Increases

Arizona Daily Star

Parkwise Director Donovan Durband told the City Council Tuesday afternoon that changes are necessary to balance the budget and upgrade Parkwise equipment.

He wants some downtown meter rates to double from 50 cents to $1 an hour and extend the hours and days of meter operation.

Parkwise is $100,000 in the red this year, most of which - $90,000 - can be attributed to streetcar construction taking around 270 meters out of commission, Durband said.

To compensate for this loss, Durband said, they are looking at placing meters on side streets near Broadway downtown.

Durband said it's also an important first step toward conditioning residents to the idea that parking isn't free, and to encourage people living in the vicinity of downtown to consider abandoning their cars for public transportation.

"We got a very small downtown ... and space is valuable. There are other uses that we can use for real estate other than parking," Durband said. "We need to find ways to encourage people ... to not have two cars, in some cases not have any cars. Let's rely on people using the streetcar and so forth."

Other proposed changes would expand Parkwise's primary enforcement area to include the entire city...

Read the full article at azstarnet.com

DOWNTOWN TUCSON

Horse Drawn Carriage Rides

Monday through Friday 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, and weekends from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm (temperature and weather permitting) Sentinel Carriage Company is now offering tours of historic downtown Tucson.

The carriage stand is located at the corner of Telles and Meyer Streets. This is situated between the Tucson Museum of Art and Old Tucson Artisans.
 

For more information see Sentinel Carriage Company.

Interstate 10 Widening

between Ruthrauff Road and Prince Road in Tucson

Some of the improvements that are planned as part of this project include:

• •  Widening the I-10 freeway to four lanes in each direction to better handle increases in traffic.
• •  Reconstructing the Prince Road traffic interchange so that Prince Road will pass over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and I-10.
• •  Updating the on-ramps and off-ramps to provide better connections and improved access for motorists.
• •  New landscaping along the project area.

Construction with traffic impacts in limited areas of the project began in September 2011. Traffic impacts include Prince Road reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction at I-10 and the closure of Business Center Drive at Prince Road to vehicular traffic. The full closure of the Prince Road underpass and ramps occured March 12, 2012. The project is scheduled to be completed by late 2013.

The Last Text

TXTNG & DRIVNG - IT CAN WAIT

This preview is a raw look at the reality and hazards of texting while driving

"Distracted driving is an epidemic, particularly among teens who are confident in their ability to text or talk while driving," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Of the 5,500 people killed last year due to distracted driving, the largest proportion of fatalities occurred among young people under the age of 20. I hope teens will take this powerful video to heart and realize that when you're behind the wheel, no text message or phone call is worth the risk."

View full 10 minute "The Last Text" documentary.         Get More Info...