TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A crucial East-West thoroughfare for Tucson drivers is getting another facelift after years of planning.
Grant Road will become a wider, six-lane divided highway on a 1.5-mile stretch from Palo Verde Boulevard to Venice Place. The project will also add a raised median that is 17-feet wide. On each side of the street, there will be a five-foot bike lane with a two-foot buffer, plus wider sidewalks up to eight feet.
The city is expected to hire a contractor to complete the project next spring and begin construction next summer.
Currently, crews are relocating utilities like power and cable lines along Grant to prepare for construction.
The construction covers Phases Three and Four of the Regional Transportation Authority’s (RTA) Grant Road Improvement Project. Phases One and Two on Grant from Oracle Road to Park Avenue were completed in previous years.
The project will also feature artwork in the form of a large, red-orange metal coyote structure at the corner of Grant and Dodge, surrounded by landscaping.
The medians will also have landscaping, with the design calling for depressed planting areas in order to harvest rainwater.
The Grant Road Corridor Planning Task Force, which originally formed in 2007, met on Zoom Thursday evening to discuss the plans with city representatives. This $35 million project is now fully funded by RTA.
Members still have questions about potentially adding more green space to the area and putting vacant adjacent land now owned by the city to good use.
The task force did not discuss plans to mitigate traffic disruptions during construction during Thursday’s meeting.
After this project’s estimated completion in 2024, there are future plans for a Fifth and Sixth Phase of the Grant Road Improvement Project, which would focus on Grant between Campbell and Country Club.
