TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Project Blue Data Center set for near Houghton and I-10 has been the topic of a lot of conversation but not much construction. That’s changing now. Work is underway now to prepare the land for construction.
The site is just north of the Pima County Fairgrounds and work is beginning just as the Fair is about to kick off for another year.
Our recent drone video shows a gate added to let equipment onto the site.
A Facebook post from Jeff Eppley caught our eye. He displays classic cars at the Fair and worries Project Blue construction could affect Fair traffic, and day to day traffic as the project goes through long spells of construction.
“We got a two lane road in areas out here. We got four lanes out here. The traffic is very crazy in the afternoons and in the mornings, high speed. It's very hard for the sheriffs to control it.”
We checked with the Fair Authority. It says its traffic plan will keep things running smoothly.
Grading the desert landscape can raise dust when plants are removed and digging breaks through the desert crust.
The Pima County Department of Environmental Quality says it has issued a dust control permit to Project Blue contractors and they have instructions on how to limit dust escaping the site.
Asked about issues like dust control, Beale Infrastructure, the company building the data center complex released a statement saying, “The Houghton Road data center project is anticipated to be operational in 2028. Construction is currently underway – including clearing and grading – for early stage site development. Dust mitigation plans are in place and being managed on a daily basis, and closely monitored at all times.”
The start of work is a disappointment to the No Desert Data Center Coalition. It has been fighting the data centers as a drain on water and electricity. After criticism, and the City of Tucson’s refusal to annex the land and provide water, developers dropped plans to use reclaimed water to cool the centers. That did not relieve critics’ concerns about how much electricity the data center will use.
Vivek Bharathan of the Coalition is critical of Pima County government leaders: “Everyone has failed our community as we strongly said we don’t want this project here and they’re going ahead and they’ve gone around our backs at so many levels of government and we deserve better than this.”
The coalition claims that Pima County tried to hide that the land was being rezoned to allow a data center. A judge just rejected that claim. The group plans to appeal.
We asked people who live near the site if they’re worried about the construction disrupting their neighborhood. Raymond Brown thinks construction is a fact of life that people adjust to.
We asked: “What do you think about the idea of having that kind of facility there?”
Brown says, “We need it. It’s something that this country needs. It’ll produce more jobs in the area. I don’t have a problem with it.”
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
