TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The long-anticipated stretch of roadway aimed at improving east-west traffic flow and flood mitigation in downtown Tucson has hit a delay due to utility coordination challenges.
Construction of the Downtown Links Improvement Project, originally scheduled to conclude by late 2025, has been pushed into the first quarter of 2026, the City of Tucson’s Department of Transportation and Mobility confirmed.
The $76 million project, part of the voter-approved Regional Transportation Authority plan, seeks to connect Barraza Aviation Parkway to St. Mary’s Road through a multimodal corridor featuring new roadways, a box culvert underground to reduce flooding, an overpass at 6th Avenue, an underpass at 6th Street to eliminate at-grade railroad crossings, a deck plaza, and improved bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
Work began in August 2020. The eastern segment, linking Barraza Aviation Parkway west to Sixth Street, opened in February 2023.
The final, most complex phase includes constructing the underpass beneath the Union Pacific Railroad. Progress has been slow, as crews waited for relocation of fiber-optic utilities within UPRR’s right-of-way, a coordination acknowledged by DTM as the source of delay.
According to a DTM statement, “Our schedule has been dependent on the fiber company to relocate their utilities, which was recently just completed following many rescheduling attempts, and now we are able to continue the project on our end. ... With the fiber delays it pushed the completion date to first quarter of next year.”
Local residents and business owners are growing impatient. “They haven’t done anything, not an ounce of dirt has moved over there,” said Dominic Oldershaw, a Dunbar-Spring neighborhood resident. “It’s a mess over there... People that would normally use that… have to drive around here, ’cause that’s not complete.”
Nearby, Gonzalo Vera, owner of Cuban Corner on Stone Avenue, expressed concerns for his business. “It’s gonna hurt us probably a little bit, especially right now coming out of summer — the hardest time in Tucson... Of course, we want it to be done... But you know, the quicker it can be done, I think the better for everybody. Especially here in downtown.”
Despite the setbacks, progress is imminent. DTM’s statement affirms construction will resume promptly now that utility relocation is finished. Final tasks include integrating drainage features, completing the underpass and roadway, and finishing pedestrian and cycling elements.
Once complete, the Downtown Links corridor will link Barraza Aviation Parkway with St. Mary’s Road, improving connectivity, traffic flow, stormwater control, plus pedestrian and bike accessibility across downtown Tucson. Engineers liken the remaining work to “reverse Jenga,” as each element must be carefully sequenced to avoid disrupting the completed structure.
With the final utility hurdles cleared, the project moves into its final stretch — with full completion now expected in the first quarter of 2026.
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Eddie Celaya is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born in Tucson and raised in the Phoenix area, Eddie is a life-long Arizonan and graduate of the University of Arizona who loves the desert and mountains and hates the cold. Previously, Eddie worked in print media at the Arizona Daily Star. Share your story ideas with Eddie at edward.celaya@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook or Instagram.
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