From petition to pavement: A new, safer intersection at Mica Mountain

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A new intersection is now in place outside Mica Mountain High School on Valencia Road after community members raised safety concerns and a student started a Change.org petition calling for changes.

KGUN 9

Pima County installed a flying tee intersection after hearing feedback from residents who said the area was unsafe, especially for young and inexperienced high school drivers.

The new design changes how drivers leave the student parking lot. Instead of crossing into the path of westbound traffic to make a left turn, drivers now pull into a dedicated lane before continuing on Valencia Road or merging right.

"It's now a through lane, so the drivers, they'll be able to go ahead, turn into that lane, and either continue on towards Valencia, or they could merge and turn to the right," Pima County traffic engineer Mike Hendrix said. "So they only have to cross one opposing direction of traffic."

Hendrix said the county took a closer look at the intersection after hearing from the community.

"Seeing the community feedback, we want to go ahead and do a further deep dive on that," he said.

Hendrix said Pima County will send information to students and parents explaining the new traffic pattern before school starts July 24.

"There was a pattern of crashes which were happening, and we wanted to go ahead and get on top of that. As soon as we could. And so what this does is it reduces the amount of conflict points between drivers," Hendrix said.

Taryn Wood

Hendrix said the county was already completing a pavement project nearby, allowing them to use the same contractor for the intersection improvements.

"A traffic signal at this location could cost up to $2 million. This improvement is probably about 10% of that cost," he said.

Flying tee intersections are uncommon around Tucson, although there is already one near Andrada High School off Houghton Road.

"We've got some vertical elements to try and to make sure that drivers know which direction to be in. We also have some new lane markings which say to turn left," Hendrix said.

———
Athena Kehoe is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Athena by emailing athena.kehoe@kgun9.com or by connecting on X/Twitter.