TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The city of Tucson's Department of Transportation and Mobility is taking its Roadway Improvement Project to The Garden District.
This will be the 21st neighborhood getting their streets repaved under Proposition 411 Tucson Delivers Better Streets Program, which was voted on by Tucsonans in May of 2022.
Proposition 411 added half a cent of sales tax to each purchase, using that money to fund repaving roads and creating safer streets through actions like adding ADA ramps and more lighting.
In the kickoff for the Garden District project, Milling Services did a milling demonstration, removing the top two inches of the road for re-pavement.
The asphalt that will be replacing the old top is mixed with recycled tires, which is supposed to make the asphalt cheaper, more sustainable and quieter, according to Mayor Regina Romero.
"Tucson Asphalt uses and recycles tires in their asphalt and they also recycle the old asphalt," she said. "One of the reasons it's so awesome to use is because it makes it that much stronger."
Some Garden District property owners, like Rob Paulus, are looking forward to that.
"It’s great and I hear that they’re using recycled content so that’s even better so let’s do it," he said. "And then I hear it’s a rubber composite, so it’ll reduce noise hopefully. It just adds value cause it’s less noise and noise is a huge thing for even sustainability."
A member of the crew working on the project says the repaving will begin sometime next week.
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Alex Dowd is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9, where her work combines her two favorite hobbies: talking to new people and learning about the community around her. Her goal is to eventually meet every single person in Tucson. Share your story ideas with Alex via email, alex.dowd@kgun9.com, or connecting on Instagram or X.
