Tag Archives: Houghton road

Houghton Road: Irvington to Valencia construction update 1.07.14

From M.J. Dillard City of Tucson Construction Project Manager.  From the facebook page of the rolling reporter Kenneth Lenger.
Paving:… We just wrapped up placing the base paving on the north end of the project, and hope to have the top layer (before the rubber) completed by the end of the month. The first week in February we hope to have that traffic adjusted so we can add the Florida T intersections. We are discussing the temporary striping we want to use during this time, and until we can get the rubberized asphalt down in April (must be 60 degrees and rising for a long enough period of time in the day so we can use up a full plant batch of asphalt within the same day).
We also have the smaller paver on site so the east side path will start going in very soon.
Landscaping: We want to avoid planting anything if it might freeze, so we are holding off on plant installation until February, or when we are certain we won’t get a freeze. In the meantime we continue to install the irrigation lines and will perform testing on all of those.
Rip rap and rock mulch: You may have noticed that during last month’s rains, the site experienced some unexpected erosion in places. We are evaluating these areas and are planning to add rip rap and smaller rock mulch (2″ or 3″ and smaller rock) in various areas to make sure things will look good for a long time. We are glad the rains showed us where the existing soils were not going to hold up so we can get fixes done while we are still in construction.
We continue to appreciate your patience. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
M.J. Dillard City of Tucson Construction Project Manager 520-837-6616
………. This comment was added to my facebook post by Kenneth Lenger Additional info for east side cyclists:  Construction has completed the Houghton Rd northbound lanes from Valencia Rd to Irvington Rd.  This new pavement is about 45 feet wide, and as is noted in the construction update above, traffic will not be moved to the new pavement for a few weeks.  What this means is that, for now, cyclists have almost exclusive use of a 45 foot wide bike path along Houghton Rd, which can be used for northbound or southbound cycling.  One work of caution, as you cross the intersecting side streets, cars using those streets are not expecting any traffic on the closed off pavement, so be very careful crossing and yield to crossing vehicles. 

Update on two other unrelated construction projects: 

Rita Rd / Julian Wash:  New bike lanes are being added along Rita Rd between the UPRR tracks near Old Vail Rd and I-10 on both sides of the road.  For the last couple of months, the pavement along Rita Rd and the Julian Wash bike path has been torn up, making it difficult to connect from Rita Ranch to the bike path.  Within the last week, construction crews laid the base pavement lift connecting the bike path to Rita Rd, allowing uninterrupted cycling to the bike path.  Again, use caution as traffic can be congested due to lane closures.

Colossal Cave Rd between Pistol Hill and Vail:  Construction crews are installing new bike lanes along Colossal Cave Rd, temporarily causing a loss of cycling shoulder in that area.  The bike lane on the eastbound side (Vail towards Pistol Hill) has been completed from near the Pantano Wash to Pistol Hill, but the westbound side is still under construction.  If you are making a loop using Camino Loma Alta, Colossal Cave Rd, and Old Spanish Trail, I suggest making the loop in a counterclockwise direction to take advantage of the new bike lane along Colossal Cave Rd up to Pistol Hill.

Keep the rubber side down