Readers on the Southwest Side of town have written to ask about the construction projects going on there.
Pima County is widening West Valencia Road from South Mission Road to Interstate 19, and the city recently did a resurfacing on West Irvington Road from Mission to South Sixth Avenue.
The Tucson Spectrum Mall is also under construction on Calle Santa Cruz on the east side of the Santa Cruz River near West Irvington.
Readers wondered why the city and county road projects were scheduled at the same time, and Melissa Arvizu wondered what road improvements are scheduled in the area to take care of future congestion.
The city planned to do the microsurfacing treatment on Irvington to prolong the life of the asphalt there a year ago, said Michael Graham, spokesman for the city's Transportation Department. Budget restraints meant the work couldn't be done last year, so the city rescheduled it. Plus, "it was a fast-moving project," Graham said.
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Though readers anticipate increased traffic at Calle Santa Cruz when the shopping center is completed, the road does not warrant a traffic signal right now, Graham said. However, when the intersection is complete, another study will be done to determine whether a signal can or should be added, he said.
Also, in response to Arvizu's question about bridges, there are no plans to build a bridge over the Santa Cruz River at Drexel to alleviate traffic on Valencia and Irvington, he said.
Sign update
A few weeks ago a reader asked Road Runner about the lack of signage at East Speedway and North Columbus Boulevard, and the city said the new signs would soon be installed.
The missing signs have reappeared now, and just as the city said, they do look different.
The letters are bigger, closer together, and the signs are not the backlit style seen at many other major intersections.
The city is testing the larger letters; they're a foot tall instead of 8 inches, Graham said in this column about a month ago.
The signs mark both Speedway and Columbus, so they're visible from any direction.
Road Runner
Andrea Kelly
Road Q
Question: "Is the city/county or whoever did the resurfacing of Greasewood south of Speedway going to remove the 25-mph signs and uncover the regular speed limit signs? It appears that the resurfacing is finished," wrote Sally Berg.
Answer: The city will remove the 25-mph speed-limit signs when the Greasewood resurfacing is finished, but it still needs another layer of asphalt, said Michael Graham, city transportation spokesman. The next layer is expected to take a couple of weeks to complete, he said.
