2013 Regional Transportation Authority Plan Report

ROADWAY ELEMENTS: COMPLETED PROJECTS RTA Ballot No. 3 Twin Peaks Road: Silverbell Road to I-10, with Interchange

Project #3: Twin Peaks Road: Silverbell Road to I-10, with Interchange

Project Scope: Reconstruct Twin Peaks Road as a 4-lane arterial west of Interstate 10 to Silverbell Road, with 4 travel lanes; raised, landscaped median; bike lanes in each direction; and curb and sidewalks

New traffic interchange on I-10 at Twin Peaks Road, including a railway overpass over the UPRR

New Camino de Mañana divided arterial extending from I–10 at the Twin Peaks interchange north and east to Linda Vista Road, with 4 travel lanes; raised, landscaped median; bike lanes in each direction

New bridge on Twin Peaks Road over the Santa Cruz River New culverts throughout to convey the 100-year

peak discharge under the roadProject Costs: Minimum RTA Revenue Allocation: $30,752,000 Other Revenues:

Marana 14,000,000 Federal/Regional 31,670,000

Other Revenues Total 45,670,000 Total Revenues $76,422,000Construction Schedule: Implementation Period 1Benefits: Connects west of I–10 via Twin Peaks Road to

Avra Valley area and development west of the Tucson Mountains

Provides new connection via Camino de Ma-ñana from I–10 east and north

Sidewalks improve pedestrian safety and ADA-accessibility to transit stops

Project Management: Jurisdictions affiliated with the administration of this project include:

Pima County, MaranaTwin Peaks Road: Silverbell Road to I-10, with Interchange Map:

RTA ProjectsRTA Regional Corridors

RTA Road Improvements

Preserve Right-of-Way

Road/Rail Separations

Intersection Improvements(illustrative)

Non-RTA FundedRoad Improvements

Road/Rail Separations

0 1 2 3 4 5

MILES

Aerial of Twin Peaks and I–10

Project History: The Twin Peaks interchange was first proposed during the planning of the Continental Ranch project in the early 1980s. The project also was incorpo-rated in the I-10 General Plan (1990), and the Federal Highway Administra-tion approved a “Change of Access” to I-10 in 1990, allowing the inter-change to move forward. It was not until the Town of Marana adopted an impact fee for the construction of the Twin Peaks interchange (2001) that other funding was identified, includ-ing funds from ADOT and 4 federal earmarks for planning, design and construction. Passage of the RTA Plan in 2006 provided the final block of funding needed to construct the project.

Usage Statistics: Prior to the construction of the Twin Peaks Interchange, significant congestion was common on other area roadways, including Tangerine Road, Cortaro Road, the Cortaro Interchange (including congestion on the off ramps that queued all the way up to the I-10 mainline) and Silverbell Road. The opening of this new interchange has improved safety on I-10, and diverted 13,100 trips a day from other area roadways. For example, Cortaro Farms Road from Silverbell to I-10 experienced a reduction of 9,500 vehicles a day, improving the level of service from F to D.

Economic Benefits: Economic benefits associated with this project include the reduction of congestion related delay experienced by the public, shorter travel distances for travelers on Camino de Mañana wishing to travel south on I-10, and the creation of land parcels suitable for major commercial development.

Budget Performance: Following the RTA vote, significant construction cost increases were experienced in Tuc-son area construction projects. This resulted in increased cost estimates for the project, for which $20.5 million of additional regionally discretionary federal funding was secured. By the time the project was bid in February 2009, construction costs had retreated as a re-sult of the recession. The total expenditure for the construction of the project amounted to $59,800,000, which compares favorably to the original (2005) estimate for construction costs of $60,189,000. The actual construction costs included approximately $2.5 million in optional additional work for nearby development parcels and water company infrastructure not includ-ed in the original estimate.

One area of budget performance that was undesirable was with respect to right-of-way acqui-sition. The original cost estimate contained $4.5 million for the acquisition of the right of way needed to construct the project. Once the final alignment of the interchange was selected and funding commitments were in place, real estate speculation on land near the new inter-change drove up land prices in the area, and consequently the cost of the needed right of way, which was based upon recent sales, soared from the $4.5 million estimated to approxi-mately $14.5 million.

The total project cost, including the costs of planning, design, right of way, construction (including optional work), construction administration and project management amounted to $86.4 million, 13 percent greater than the original estimate of $76.4 million, but less than the $96.9 million of funding programmed.

Construction Timeline: • Pulice Construction was awarded the construction contract by the Arizona Department of

Transportation on April 17, 2009• The groundbreaking ceremony occurred on May 11, 2009.• The official ribbon cutting ceremony was held on November 18, 2010, with the interchange

opened to traffic the following day.

Twin Peaks overpass

Multi Modal Transportation Benefits: Bike lanes and walkwaysSite Specific Design Benefits: Providing better connectivity between Tangerine Road and the new I-10 Traffic Interchange at

Twin Peaks/Linda Vista.• Shifting vehicular traffic from a busy, at-grade railroad crossing on Tangerine Road to a

new, safer location with a grade separation from the railroad tracks at the new interchange.• Decreasing daily traffic on I-10 and Tangerine Road as well as on Cortaro Road.• Relieving other local north-south roadways such as Oracle Road and Thornydale Road by

providing a viable alternate route for northwest area commuters.• Pavement rehabilitation on Twin Peaks and Silverbell Roads

Arial Photographs Before & After:

Before construction

After construction