1. When is the entire project expected to be complete?
The project is expected to be complete in the summer of 2018.
2. Is the project on schedule?
Yes, at this time the project is still anticipated to be complete by the summer of 2018.
3. When will Phase I, Dove Mountain/Twin Peaks to Thornydale be complete?
Dove Mountain to Thornydale will be complete in the winter of 2017. This slip from the original completion time of summer 2017 is because of the decision to add median curb along this portion of Tangerine Road. The Thornydale intersection will still be under construction, but will be complete in the winter of 2017. However, after this work is compete, minor landscaping and adjustment work will continue through the end of the project.
4. Will there be a traffic signal at Camino de Manana?
This intersection will not have a traffic signal installed as a part of this project. However, the Town of Marana has future plans to signalize this intersection.
5. Will there be a traffic signal at Camino de Oeste?
Yes. This intersection will have a traffic signal installed to help accommodate pedestrian and bicycle access to the Tangerine Sky Park.
6. Where is the multi-use path located along Tangerine Road?
The multi-use path runs along the north side of Tangerine Road from Dove Mountain Boulevard to Tangerine Crossing Drive, and on the south side of Tangerine Road from Thornydale Road to La Cañada. Additionally, a multi-use path will be installed along the south side of Tangerine Road from Camino de Oeste to Camino de Mañana as a part of the Tangerine Sky Park project. Although this section is a part of the Tangerine Sky Park project, it will be installed during the Tangerine Road project.
7. Can the speed limit be increased when work is not being completed?
No, the speed reduction is for worker safety and public safety. The temporary configuration of the roadway is not suitable for speeds above the temporary posted limit. This means that even when workers are not present, speeds must remain reduced to accommodate safe driving conditions.
8. Will there be noise mitigation for the new road?
We will not be building a noise wall or using rubberized asphalt, however, the top surface course of asphalt will use a smaller size of aggregate that reduces the amount of surface voids and the echoing effect of traffic noise.
9. Where is the artwork being placed?
The artwork will be placed near the southwest corner of Tangerine and Camino de Mañana.
10. What will the artwork look like?
The artwork will be a geometric family of deer made out of steel. A portion of the artwork is being constructed by students in the Marana High School welding program, under the direction of an artist. The artwork is part of the Pima Association of Governments Transportation Art by Youth program.
For more information on this project, check out this article in the Marana Newsroom: http://www.maranaaz. gov/news/2017/3/2/family-to-occupy-permanent-home-in-clearing-south-of-tangerine-road
11. How can we contact the project if we have questions or comments?
If you have questions or comments regarding the project, you can visit our website at www.tangerineroad.info, email us at info@tangerineroad.info or call us at (520) 623-3073.
12. What are the project limits?
The project extends from the I-10 Tangerine Road interchange to La Cañada Drive. The total length is 10 miles with segments in Town of Marana, Pima County and Oro Valley jurisdictions.
13. Why is Tangerine Road being improved?
Tangerine Road is the only corridor north of Cortaro Rd /Magee Rd that connects I-10 in Marana and SR 77 (Oracle Rd) in Oro Valley. As such, it serves a critical role in providing regional connectivity, and public safety/emergency services. However, the current roadway has reached its traffic capacity, especially in the area east of Thornydale Road, and has numerous drainage dip crossings that preclude its use during major storm events. In 2006, the voters of Pima County approved the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) plan and a ½-cent sales tax to fund transportation improvements. The voter-approved plan included the widening of Tangerine Road to 4 lanes and drainage improvements between I-10 and La Cañada Drive.
14. What is the project schedule/timeline?
The Final Design Concept will be complete in 2012.
As part of the planning process, the team identified the following preliminary schedule for design and construction of 3 segments of the roadway:
- Segment 1A and 1B (La Cañada Drive to Dove Mountain Blvd)
- - 2013-2014 – Begin Final Design
- - 2015-2016 – Begin Construction
- Segment 2 (Dove Mountain Blvd to I-10)
- - 2022-2026 – Begin Construction
15. What is a Construction Management at Risk (CMAR) project?
Construction Management at Risk (CMAR) is a construction approach that combines the efforts of the design engineering team, the owner and the contractor. This enables the entire project team to work together to complete the improvements. This results in the roadway construction occurring earlier in the process than the more traditional design-bid-build approach, with contractor input on constructability. The Town of Marana has had extreme success utilizing the CMAR delivery method in the past on such projects as Twin Peaks Road, Linda Vista to Tangerine Road; Silverbell Road, Cortaro Road to Ina Road and Thornydale Road, CDO River to Orange Grove Road.
16. Who pays for it?
The Tangerine Road project is part of the $2.1 billion Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) plan, approved by Pima County voters in May 2006. The project is funded by the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and local funds from the Town of Marana, Pima County, and the Town of Oro Valley. Those agencies will be working together, with Marana as the lead agency, to design and construct the corridor improvements.
17. What will the new road look like?
In compliance with the RTA voter-approved plan, the road is required to be a 4-lane (2 lanes in each direction) Desert Parkway with multi-use/bike lanes throughout and turn lanes at intersections. Desert Parkways are attractive roadways and are especially appropriate for developed or developing areas provided that access to the roadway is managed well and planned in advance (as is being done for this project).
Two different types of conceptual Desert Parkway designs are currently being considered. (Both design concepts are shown below.) An uncurbed Desert Parkway design, containing a depressed (uncurbed) landscaped median and uncurbed road edges, is typically used on roadways with posted speed limits of 50 MPH or greater. The purpose of this design is to eliminate the possible hazard that curbs may present to vehicles traveling at higher speeds, potentially causing such vehicles to vault after striking a curb. Examples of uncurbed roadways/parkways in our region include Oracle Road north of River Road (through a highly developed area), Craycroft Road in the Foothills area (Sunrise Road to River Road), and the proposed six-lane Houghton Road from Irvington Road to Valencia Road. Construction on the latter, which is also an RTA project, will start this summer.
The other conceptual design option, a curbed Desert Parkway, contains a curbed, landscaped median and uncurbed road edges, and is intended for roadways with posted speed limits of 45 MPH or lower. This design is appropriate for the segments of a roadway that experience lower speeds as a result of a greater number of driveway and street intersections. This design is very similar to that used for the section of Tangerine Road between La Cañada Drive and 1st Avenue in Oro Valley.
At this time preliminary consideration is being given to using the uncurbed Desert Parkway design on the higher-speed segment of Tangerine Road from I-10 to Thornydale Road, or possibly only to the Dove Mountain Boulevard/Twin Peaks Road intersection. The remainder of the Tangerine Road project would use the curbed Desert Parkway design. The findings of the Design Concept Report, especially regarding the prevailing speeds on these segments, along with public and stakeholder input, will help the project team to determine which roadway design is most appropriate and safest for a given segment.
(Example of an uncurbed parkway section)
(Example of a curbed parkway section)
18. What about Pedestrian and Bicycle considerations and amenities?
The RTA plan explicitly includes pedestrian and bicycle facilities as part of the project. Bicycle lanes/shoulders will be incorporated into the roadway design, and pedestrian paths will be provided away from the road. The alignment for the project’s pedestrian paths will be decided during the planning process, with special consideration being given to providing meandering (not straight) paths, as that is the preference of all the participating jurisdictions. However, since meandering paths are more expensive to construct, budget constraints will need to be considered in the design of the paths. Every effort will be made to provide paths that are attractive and functional, and that are amply separated from the roadway to ensure pedestrian safety.
19. Will you accommodate the wildlife that currently crosses Tangerine Road?
The Arizona Game and Fish Department recently completed a Wildlife Mortality Study that covers Tangerine Road from I-10 to La Cañada Drive. The study identified areas with above average wildlife activity from multiple species, called ‘hotspots’, and made recommendations on how to accommodate wildlife crossing the roadway. Wildlife crossings would vary in height from 2 to 9 ft depending on the species being targeted. Another important element of wildlife accommodations is the addition of fences to direct wildlife to the crossings.
The design team is currently evaluating locations where drainage culverts may need to be oversized or modified to serve as wildlife crossings. Wildlife crossings act as a habitat conservation method, but they also improve safety by reducing collisions between motor vehicles and animals.
20. What about dust control during construction?
Marana, Oro Valley and Pima County will include provisions on this project to require the contractor to water the work area on a regular basis to minimize particulate matter and dust.
21. How will noise be mitigated?
The need for noise walls (in addition to the rubberized asphalt) was evaluated following a standardized methodology used for RTA projects. The methodology considers elements such as increase in noise, the number of benefited receivers (properties) for each wall, the efficiency of the wall, and the cost to mitigate each property, among others. The initial noise analysis did not identify any sensitive noise receivers that met the criteria for noise wall installation. Unwarranted walls will not be installed because while the cost of building one noise wall may seem small, if an unwarranted wall is built at one location, every other area in the region will ask for the same treatment. This would result in millions of dollars in walls that the agencies don't have.
22. Will any homes/businesses be purchased and demolished to build the roadway?
Acquisition of additional right-of-way will be needed in order to construct the project, but most of those acquisitions will come from undeveloped property owned by the Arizona State Land Department. Partial acquisition of some private properties will also be needed, but we don’t anticipate that any homes, businesses or major structures will be affected.
23. What will the project do to help my business survive the construction project?
The Regional Transportation Authority funds MainStreet Business Assistance, a small-business assistance program. Funding for the program was approved as part of the RTA plan in May 2006. The $2.1 billion, 20-year plan included $10 million for small business assistance to help businesses affected by road improvement projects in the RTA plan. MainStreet Business Assistance helps businesses during transportation projects by providing information, facilitating communication and offering individual and group business consulting services. The contact information for MainStreet Business Assistance is below.
Britton Dornquast
MainStreet Business Assistance Program Manager
1 E. Broadway Boulevard, Suite 401
Tucson, AZ 85704
Phone: (520) 838-4352
Fax: (520) 620-6981
E-mail:
24. Will the project affect services currently provided by police, fire, & EMS departments?
The project will substantially improve emergency services in the area, as the widened roadway will reduce congestion and travel times. In addition, the elimination of the dip wash crossings will eliminate the need for road closures and allow emergency services to respond faster during major storm events. Marana, Oro Valley and Pima County will also work with the police and fire departments to make accommodations during construction so that response times remain consistent with current standards.
25. Will electric lines be relocated underground?
Tucson Electric Power lines and TRICO electric lines run on the south and north sides of the roadway, respectively. The Tucson Electric Power lines are 138kV transmission lines which cannot be relocated underground due to the high voltage. The undergrounding of the TRICO lines would add several millions of dollars in cost to the project. As the RTA and/or TRICO will only absorb the cost of overhead relocations, the Town of Marana would be fully responsible for the cost of undergrounding the lines. Unfortunately, the current economic and budget conditions do not allow for such expenditures. Nevertheless, the Town strongly desires the future undergrounding of the TRICO lines and will make every effort to ensure that developers building along the north side of Tangerine Road provide the undergrounding of the lines as their projects move forward. It is a Town requirement that developments along Tangerine Road underground the lines as has been the case in the areas of Dove Mountain and Tangerine Crossing.
26. What time will construction happen? Day, night, weekends?
Construction schedules will be determined during final design. Development of the construction schedules will consider constraints such as the current Accenture Match Play Golf Tournament, school and church schedules, and the needs of residents and businesses.
27. How will I be notified of detours, delays and other construction activities?
Notices for those events will be sent via e-mail to everyone on the project contact list. You can sign up for that list on the website or at public meetings for the project. Notices will also be posted on the project website.
28. Where can I find more information?
For additional information please contact Nanette or Kathy at: 520.623.3073 or at . Public meetings will be used to disseminate additional information and obtain feedback/input as the project is developed.
