Photos: Sun Link Tucson streetcar through the years
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar took nearly two years to construct. It opened in 2014 and runs 3.9 miles, from the University of Arizona campus, down 4th Avenue, through downtown on Congress Street and Broadway Road to the Mercado San Agustin.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Old Pueblo Trackworks workers look over the newly installed 720 foot section of track near University and 4th Ave. on May 30, 2012.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Construction crews begin work on tearing up asphalt for streetcar construction on East Broadway Boulevard between South Scott and South Arizona Avenues in 2013.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Congress Street was closed off to vehicular traffic between Toole Ave. and Stone Ave. in 2012.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Comstock Company workers part of a crew that are putting up headspans that hold the trolly car wire that the trolly is going to run on here at the intersection of University and Park Ave. in 2013.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Keith Drennen with Railworks checks out the switch section of tracks they are installing to connect the old 4th Ave. tracks with the new tracks that will run west of I-10 here near Hotel Congress in 2013.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Tracks for the modern streetcar are laid out along North Forth Avenue looking south in 2012.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Looking towards the west, construction of the streetcar in downtown Tucson continues on East Congress Street as many businesses suffer from its affects with fewer customers in the area on April 20, 2012. The work stretches from East Toole Avenue to North Stone Avenue along East Congress Street.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Granite construction workers working on the rails as they are pouring cement here downtown on Broadway between 6th Ave. and Scott in 2013.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Ray Ballard of Progressive Hardscapes wipes down the mosaic tile artwork installed at one of the streetcar stops on North Fourth Avenue between Sixth and Seventh Streets in 2013. Mary Lucking, the artist, says the inspiration is a psychedelic cactus to match the colorful and playful nature of North Fourth Avenue.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
After grouting, workers from Railworks Track Systems clean up along the modern streetcar on the Cushing Street Bridge near downtown Tucson in 2013.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
PVB Fabrications workers putting up one of the streetcar station stops here at 4th avenue and 9th street March 26, 2013.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Old Pueblo Trackworks workers Eduardo Trejo lifts a section of flangeway filler as part of the new 270 foot section of street car track near University and 4th Ave. on May 30, 2012. The first 720 feet of track for the modern streetcar project.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Old Pueblo Trackworks workers take measurements on the new 720 foot section of track near University and 4th Ave., May 30, 2012, for the modern streetcar project.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Donny Sondej, lower right, of Railworks Track Systems, makes sure the switches on the track stays aligned as the streetcar is towed along Eighth Street towards North Fourth Avenue in Tucson, Arizona. Workers from Sun Link and Railworks Track Systems performed some tests on the modern streetcar along North Fourth Avenue and on the University of Arizona campus in 2013.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
The modern streetcar is housed inside the Sun Link Operations and Maintenance facility in Tucson. Workers from Sun Link and Railworks Track Systems performed some tests on the modern streetcar along North Fourth Avenue and on the University of Arizona campus on Tuesday night. Photo taken Tuesday September 10, 2013 .
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Tucson's Modern Streetcar undergoes testing on North Fourth Avenue, just south of East Sixth Street on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
The Sun Link streetcar heads west on Congress St. past the old Chicago Music Store just west of 6th Ave. in Tucson, AZ. on March 30, 2017. The parking area on the south side here is one of two that accounted for about one third of all Sun Link Blockages in 2016.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
As the Tucson Modern Streetcar rumbles across the Luis G. Gutierrez Bridge, water flows bank to bank along the Santa Cruz River after a morning monsoon storm on July 15, 2014.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, center, and city councilman Richard Fimbres have a laugh as they start of board the streetcar as dignitaries and city officials take a ride to the western-most section of the line to dedicate the stop for US Rep. Raul Grijalva in 2014.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
The streetcar travels along University Boulevard and Park Avenue in the Main Gate area of the University of Arizona after dignitaries and city officials took a ride on a streetcar to dedicate a stop for US Rep. Raul Grijalva. The photo was taken on Monday, July 21, 2014.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Lane Mandle, public information specialist with the city managers office, looks out the window while hanging on to the hand rail in the Sun Link Streetcar on Thursday, July 24, 2014.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Streetcar operator Rolando Balance radios back to the Operations and Maintenance Facility before he takes media and guests on an evening ride on the streetcar route on Thursday, July 24, 2014, in Tucson.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Streetcar operator Rolando Balance departs a Sun Link streetcar stop on North Fourth Avenue after he took media and guests on an evening ride on the streetcar route on Thursday, July 24, 2014, in Tucson.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Lane Mandle, public information specialist with the city managers office, hangs on to the hand rail in the Sun Link Streetcar on Thursday, July 24, 2014.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Passengers stream across University as two trains make the stop at Tyndall at the same time on the first day of operation for the modern streetcar in the Main Gate Square, Friday, July 25, 2014.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
A pedestrian crosses East Broadway Boulevard at Sixth Avenue on this second anniversary of Tucson's modern streetcar on July 25, 2016.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
The scene on North Fourth Avenue on Friday, March 15, 2013, near downtown Tucson, Ariz.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Jim Harms, a bike safety instructor with the Pima County Bike and Pedestrian Program, left, moves in to help a student who got her tires caught in the tracks as she was attempting to cross on University Blvd. near Tyndall Ave. in 2012.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Under a vast web of wires and cables, a pair of streetcars pass each other on North Fourth Avenue on their second anniversary in Tucson on July 25, 2016.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
The Sun Link Streetcar was filled to the brim on Saturday July 28, 2018 in Tucson. The Streetcar had free rides sponsored by Rio Nuevo and Main Gate Square, as well as live performances on board in celebration of the fourth anniversary of its installation.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
The Modern Streetcar passes through North Fourth Avenue underpass in 2014.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
People enjoy the nightlife of North Fourth Avenue and downtown by way of Sun Link streetcar as it turns onto East Congress Street from Fourth Avenue on July 26, 2014, in Tucson.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
People enjoy the nightlife of North Fourth Avenue and downtown by way of Sun Link streetcar on July 26, 2014, in Tucson. With several stops in the entertainment districts, the Sun Link streetcar presents a new way to enjoy dozens of restaurants, bars and clubs.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
People enjoy the nightlife of North Fourth Avenue and downtown by way of Sun Link streetcar as it picks up passengers on North Fourth Avenue in 2014.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
This bicyclist, umbrella in hand to shade himself on a sunny day, crosses the Sun Link streetcar tracks at the intersection of North Park Avenue and East University Boulevard near the University of Arizona in 2015.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Workers from Sun Link maintenance clear out water from an area along Congress Street at Linda Ave. to restore modern streetcar service as a monsoon storm passed over Tucson on Tuesday August 9, 2016.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
A crowd of students, employees leaving work and folks looking for Bear Down Thursday entertainment shuffle on and off the SunLink Streetcar along East University Boulevard at North Tyndall Avenue in 2014.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Bicyclists traveling along East University Boulevard and North Fourth Avenue may have trouble with the tight squeeze between parked cars and the streetcar in 2014.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
A man gets some cover from the heavy rain at a modern streetcar stop at Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street on September 28, 2016.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
Members of Palo Verde Class of '66 study the map on the SunLink Tucson streetcar. About 60 people, in town for their 50th reunion, took the streetcar from Mercado de San Agustin to Maynards Market & Kitchen in Tucson in 2016.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
University of Arizona students form a moving rope line to escort the streetcar through the crowds on University Blvd prior to the homecoming bonfire and pep rally on the West side of Old Main in Tucson in 2015.
Sun Link Tucson Streetcar
The streetcar passes over the Cushing Street bridge along the Santa Cruz River west of Interstate 10 on Sept. 7, 2017.
Mamta Popat
Photojournalist
The report's creators said they're addressing Arizona's infrastructure as "a public service to citizens and policymakers to inform them of the infrastructure needs in their state."
The launch of a new door-to-door transit service next week will soon bring a more flexible and convenient option to riders, Tucson transit off…
The money’s purpose is to address exposure mitigation, contactless payment and other measures used to strengthen riders’ confidence in using the transit system during the pandemic.