City News

On Monday, January 7, 2019, work will begin to improve Houghton Road from the Union Pacific Railroad south to Interstate 10. Borderland Construction Co., under contract with the City of Tucson Department of Transportation, will begin the project with the placement of  concrete barriers along the west side of the existing Houghton Road travel lanes. 

Crews will then start the underground utility improvements and roadway construction on the west side of Houghton Road, while maintaining the current travel lanes on the existing roadway.

On Monday, January 7, 2019, Southern Arizona Paving and Construction, under contract with the City of Tucson Department of Transportation, will begin work to improve the at-grade storm grates on Ajo Way just east of Sixth Avenue. Work will take place Monday through Thursday, from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The project is scheduled to be complete in mid-February. At least one lane of traffic in each direction will be open during this work.  Message boards are in place to notify the traveling public of the upcoming restrictions. 

I’m keeping this week’s newsletter short given our holiday schedule. Still, I’d like to give a shout out to the firefighters at Tucson Fire’s Station 9, which serves the area around Craycroft and 22^nd Street.

Some of you may have caught the story on KGUN over the weekend. 96 year-old Clarence Ellquist fell off a ladder while doing work in his yard. Firefighters responded and he was treated for a concussion and a nasty cut.

During the shutdown of the federal government due to the lapse of appropriations, national parks will remain as accessible as possible while still following all applicable laws and procedures. Park roads and trails at Saguaro National Park will remain accessible to visitors, but emergency and rescue services will be limited.

There will be no NPS-provided visitor services at Saguaro National Park, including public information, restrooms, trash collection, and facilities or roads maintenance. Both Visitor Centers are closed.

On January 1, 2019, the entrance fees at Saguaro National Park will increase by $5. Visitors will notice that the 7-day private vehicle entrance fee at Saguaro National Park will go up from $15 to $20, 7-day motorcycle entrance fee will rise from $10 to $15, individual entrance passes for pedestrians and bicyclists will increase from $5 to $10, and the Saguaro Annual Pass will increase from $35 to $40.