TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Whether you avoid Grant Road like the plague or if your commute is plagued by its maze of flashing orange cones, Tucson commuters may get a bit of a break soon.
City of Tucson Department of Transportation and Mobility and their partners on the Grant Road Improvement Project invited the community out for an update on the large-scale construction project on Monday evening.
Many business owners and nearby homeowners told KGUN 9 they understood the need for a project like this, but were feeling the fatigue from years of construction.
Jim Hogan owns property along the current construction zone—Phases 3 & 4 from Sparkman Blvd. to Swan Rd.—but says he has been involved with the project on the citizens' task force since around 2006.
He voted for the work, knowing the project went right through part of his property near the Grant Rd and Alvernon Way intersection.
Through eminent domain, the city and Hogan reached a settlement that gave his property over the project, allowing space for an indirect—or "Michigan" left turn just West of the intersection.
While he said he's still in support of the project, he says he may have taken a hit from the timeline.
“No one can really measure for commercial property owners, business owners—like all those shopping centers and so on— no one can really measure how much loss there’s been financially to those business owners and property owners because of how long it’s taken," Hogan said.
The Grant Road Improvement Project's goal is to expand the roadway to six lanes of traffic while adding more room for transit, bikers and pedestrians. Both sidewalks and bike lanes will be expanded on both sides of the street with pedestrian medians and landscaping between the eastbound and westbound lanes.
City of Tucson representatives say Phases 3 & 4 are still on track to wrap up in October of 2026, but Hogan and other neighbors say they're expecting that date to be pushed back a few weeks.
Commuters can already see some of the results of Phases 3 & 4 of construction: concrete curbs on the South and East side of the Grant and Alvernon intersection.
Paving is expected to start in the westbound lanes in June and July. Traffic will be moved into the eastbound lanes with one lane in each direction.
City representatives say that while it may look quiet on the surface, there's still a lot of work happening underground as crews finish up drainage and flood mitigation infrastructure.
When this section is finished, the city's focus will move West down Grant Road to begin Phases 5 & 6 of the Grant Road Improvement Project.
That project will look a lot like the work happening in Phases 3 & 4: widening the road to six lanes, expanding sidewalks and bike lanes and adding infrastructure for flood management and public transit.
The project will add another indirect left turn at the Grant Rd. and Campbell Ave. intersection.
However, commuters will get a bit of a break before construction ramps up again. Work on phases 5 & 6 isn't expected until 2029.
For the next two years, the city of Tucson and its construction partners will go through the property acquisition process, gathering the property they need to expand the road. Then comes a year-long period to move electric and water utilities before construction can finally start in 2029 for the final phase in the nearly two-decade-long project.
——
Alex Dowd is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9, where her work combines her two favorite hobbies: talking to new people and learning about the community around her. Her goal is to eventually meet every single person in Tucson. Share your story ideas with Alex via email, alex.dowd@kgun9.com, or connecting on Instagram or X.
