Underfunding of up to $250M has left 10 major road projects in Tucson under threat of not being completed, according to media reports.
Pima County voters approved a sales tax for a Regional Transportation Authority in 2006, and the projects are funded under those original estimates. Fifteen years of inflation, however, have dramatically impacted the projects’ real costs, and RTA officials say Tucson is responsible for covering the difference.
Tucson estimates each of the projects could need between $28M and $72M but estimates from the City and the RTA vary widely due to differences in the two bodies’ cost analyses.
The Top 5 projects most likely to be impacted, along with the required extra funding estimates from Tucson and RTA are:
- 22nd Street: I-10 to South Tucson Boulevard: Tucson’s estimate: $72M. RTA’s estimate: $60M.
- Grant Road: North Oracle to North Swan: Tucson’s estimate: $57M. RTA’s estimate: $73M.
- North Silverbell: West Ina Road to West Grant: Tucson’s estimate: $32M. RTA’s estimate: $58M.
- Houghton: I-10 to East Tanque Verde Road: Tucson’s estimate: $32M. RTA’s estimate: $55M.
- North First Avenue: East River Road to East Grant: Tucson estimate: $28M. RTA estimate: $64M. (Source)