Project Cost: $8 M
Pima County Transportation/Regional Transportation Authority
Project Status: Completed
Completion Date: September 2017
Engineer/Contractor: Parsons Brinckerhoff/Southern Arizona Paving
This project will improve safety and operations by reconstructing nearly 4, 600 feet of Colossal Cave Road, between Acacia Elementary and Old Vail Middle School. Sight visibility will be improved at several locations with adjustments of the roadway grade elevation and traffic congestion will be reduced with the addition of a center two-way-left turn lane. School safety and accessibility will be augmented with right turn lanes at both school entrances and a modified driveway entrance at Acacia Elementary. Walkability and bike safety will be enhanced with the installation of an asphalt multi-use path along the west side of the road, a concrete sidewalk on the east, and paved bike shoulders along the roadway. Local youth art will be featured in a new seating area at the Acacia Elementary crosswalk, along with native landscaping and other streetscape amenities.
Construction is expected to start early summer 2016 and take approximately 18 months. The Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) will require closure of Colossal Cave Road for their work at the railroad crossings on two separate occasions. UPRR closures are anticipated to require 5-7 days closure at each crossing and the schedule will be coordinated with the community and Vail Unified School District to minimize impact as much as possible. These dates will be shared with the community as they are known, and are not expected until fall 2016 at the earliest.