The project to widen Broadway Boulevard just east of downtown Tucson has reached what engineers call “substantial completion,” which means it’s basically done, with just a few finishing touches remaining.
The roadway project is one of 35 regional corridor projects included in the 2006 voter-approved Regional Transportation Authority plan. The City of Tucson manages the project and awarded Ashton Construction the contract for the work.
The project has been under construction since January 2020. It was a large undertaking to expand the densely traveled roadway between Euclid Avenue and Country Club Road.
Broadway’s new design will improve functionality and contribute to revitalizing the gateway between downtown and the historic Sunshine Mile. The new roadway boasts more multimodal amenities, better drainage and increased safety.
The details included widening the road from four to six lanes with five-foot-wide bike lanes; a two-foot-wide buffer zone between vehicles and the bike lane; medians, sidewalks, signalized pedestrian crossings and bus pullouts, plus a large, underground drainage system with greatly improved capacity designed to meet current standards for roadway drainage.
The city also replaced aged water pipes that were among some of the oldest in the City of Tucson infrastructure because of the age of the roadway.
Some construction workers and traffic control measures will remain in place for the coming weeks, but the project is in the final stretch before a ribbon-cutting celebration to share the fully reopened roadway with the community.