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Pima County

1 Day Closure for Northbound Shannon Road and Southbound Magee Road

Cortaro Farms Road/Magee Road: Thornydale Road To Oracle Road Improvement Project

On Tuesday, May 28, 2013, starting at 5:00 a.m. both the northbound leg of Shannon Road and southbound leg of Magee Road at the Cortaro Farms Road intersection will be closed.

There will be traffic shifts at that intersection throughout the day as paving work is completed. This closure is expected to last until 6:00 p.m.

All area traffic wishing to access Shannon Road will be detoured west to Club Drive.

Southbound Magee Road traffic will be detoured west to Thornydale Road.

Once the asphalt has cured, both northbound Shannon and southbound Magee Road will be reopened for traffic. Flag personnel will be on hand to guide motorists through the area.

Pima County

Houghton Road Pavement Preservation Project

Pima County Department of Transportation and their contractor Borderland Construction will begin a pavement preservation asphalt overlay project on Houghton Road from Catalina Highway to Snyder Road.

Starting Monday, May 20, 2013, at 6:00 a.m., work will begin. As part of the repaving, crews will pave additional shoulder in some areas along Houghton Road.

Crews are scheduled to work Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The project should be completed by mid-June.

Flaggers and pilot cars will be on hand to guide traffic through the construction area. All businesses will remain accessible during construction. In the event of mechanical failure or inclement weather, the schedule is subject to change.

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

Upcoming MicroSurfacing

Updated: 5/17/2013

Intermountain Slurry Seal and Granite Construction Company, under contract with the City of Tucson Department of Transportation (TDOT), will be patching and micro-surfacing City streets on the following dates and times at the following locations:

Friday, May 17, 2013 from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
• Grant Road – Silverbell Road to Forbes Boulevard.
• Anklam Road – Players Club Drive to Shannon Road.
• Wetmore Road and Stone Avenue intersection.

Sunday, May 19, 2013 from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Harrison Road and Old Spanish Trail intersection.

Sunday, May 19, 2013, Monday, May 20, Tuesday, May 21 from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
• Stone Avenue – Prince Road to Fort Lowell Road.
• Stone Avenue – Broadway to 18th Street.
• Wetmore Road and Stone Avenue intersection.

Business and residential access will be maintained at all times during this work, except for when heavy equipment is in front of a driveway. The traveling public can expect delays when driving in these work areas.

Neighborhood Slurry Seal

Granite Construction Co., under contract with the City of Tucson Department of Transportation (TDOT), will apply slurry seal to all the residential streets in the following neighborhoods:

• May 15, 2013 - Swan Road to the west, Craycroft Road to the east, Fifth Street to north and Broadway to the south.

• May 22, 2013 - Pantano Wash to the west, Harrison Road to the east, Golf Links Road to the north and Sellarole Street to the south.

Crews will be working from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Residential access will be maintained at all times during the project. The traveling public can expect delays when driving in the work area. Please obey all traffic control signs and watch for construction personnel and equipment in the work area.

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

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.

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...