TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Saguaro National Park East is in the process of a year-long construction project to redesign the entrance to the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center.
Beth Hudick, public information officer for the park tells me this project addresses decades of growing visitor demand that has increased from 75,000 annual visitors in the 1950s to about one million today.
The roughly $8 million project, funded through visitor fees and government funding, began less than a month ago and will continue through fall 2026, with crews working on different sections to ensure the visitor center remains accessible throughout construction.
Services will stay open during this time, though visitors should expect traffic patterns to change as work is completed in phases over the next year.
"This project has been decades in the making. We started the design work for this project a few years ago," said Hudick.
The redesign includes several key parts:
- Realignment of the park entrance to be perpendicular to Old Spanish Trail
- New turn lanes on Old Spanish Trail for safer park access
- Separation of the entrance road from the parking lot
- New restroom facilities adjacent to the visitor center
- A new bicycle ramada with additional bicycle parking capacity
- An expanded parking lot to accommodate additional vehicles including buses and RVs
- And an additional nine additional accessible parking spots.
Longtime cyclists who frequent the park say they've seen firsthand how crowded the lot can become, especially during winter months when visitor numbers peak.
"For the most part, the cars are respectful. It's the one place where the bikes are faster than the cars. So we pass the cars, not they pass us," said Ken, a regular cyclist at the park.
Fidel, another cyclist, believes the expansion will improve traffic flow.
"As you can see, there's only two lanes here, one in, one out. So, with the expansion, it's going to create a better—easier path for the riders," Fidel said.
Another cyclist, Rich, says he usually sees cars back up onto Old Spanish Trail.
"The lot gets very crowded and sometimes there's a backup of cars down to the street. So, this should alleviate that problem and reduce the congestion," said Rich, a cyclist who uses the park regularly.
To protect the desert environment during construction, Hudick says saguaros and other native plants have been carefully relocated and will be replanted once the project is complete.
Hudick confirms all areas will be accessible during the renovation process.
"So far everything has gone really well. There is nothing that's going to be inaccessible during this project or because of this project," Hudick said.
Thomas, another regular cyclist, expressed feeling positive about the changes.
"It's all gonna be a great improvement, I think we're gonna enjoy it more than we do now," Thomas said.
For more information about the project, click here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Jacqueline Aguilar is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born and raised in Yuma, AZ., she is no stranger to the unforgiving Arizona heat. Now this U of A wildcat is excited to be back in Tucson and is looking forward to involving herself in the community. Share your story ideas with Jacqueline by emailing jacqueline.aguilar@kgun9.com or connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
