Go to comment form

Houghton Road, Central Segment: 22nd Street to Valencia Road

The City of Tucson is continuing the design of roadway widening improvements on Houghton Road from 22nd Street to Valencia Road.

Work on the first phase of the design for this six-mile segment of Houghton Road has been completed and produced a Design Concept Report (DCR) and 30 percent preliminary plans. The following provides an overview of current work on projects in the segment.

Irvington Road to Valencia Road:

• Final design of this segment began earlier this year and will conclude in 2010.
• The solicitation of an art planner for the corridor theme is underway.
• Construction of this segment is expected to begin in 2010.

The roadway conceptual design between 22nd Street and Valencia Road included these major components:

• Address roadway capacity, operations, safety, pedestrian, bicycle and transit needs, access control and traffic control requirements.
• Design concepts for number of lanes, median openings, sidewalks and paths, drainage culverts and storm drain and segments of curbed roadway.
• Evaluate drainage conditions, recommended drainage design components and addressed impacts to adjacent properties.
• Identify utility conflicts and recommended relocations.
• Prepare design concepts for a greenway linear park along the east side and a pedestrian facility on the west side of Houghton Road.
• Involve the public in outreach efforts for design and construction phasing.

Improvements specific to the Central Segment will include:

• Widening Houghton Road to a six-lane roadway with medians, improved intersections, rubberized asphalt for noise mitigation, improved drainage, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, native landscaping with water harvesting, art and a multiuse dual path "Greenway" on the east side of the road to connect trails and parks.
• "Florida T" signalization added at Poorman and Drexel roads to facilitate access and comply with Houghton Road Corridor signalization spacing requirements. A "Florida T: signal allows left turns from the minor street while through-traffic on Houghton Road continues unimpeded. Examples of "Florida T" signals include Wilmot Road at Park Place Mall, and Anklam Road at Pima Community College West.
• Refinement of the drainage design concept at Poorman Road to avoid ponding.
• A retaining wall at a key location to keep the roadway footprint within the public right-of-way.
• Emergency vehicle signal provided for Tucson Fire Department station at Seven Generations Way.
• Development of the final configuration of the intersection at Irvington Road. This will require widening Irvington Road approximately 1,700 feet to the west and 500 feet to the east at that intersection.
• Medians with access-control points to improve safety and reduce congestion for the traveling public.
• Improved intersections such as those at Old Spanish Trail, Golf Links Road, Escalante Road, Irvington Road, Drexel Road, Bilby Road and Poorman Road.
• Upgrading the Pantano Wash Bridge to accommodate the wider roadway.
• Preservation of wildlife corridors.
• Bus pullouts for future service.

Background Information

Recommendations for the Houghton Road improvements are based upon engineering and environmental considerations, as well as public information gathered during the state-run Houghton Road Corridor Study and public outreach efforts that are being conducted during the city-run Conceptual Design Phase. These recommendations will continue to be implemented throughout the final design of the project.