Progress on the greatly anticipated Grant Road corridor project took a giant step last month, as construction of the east end of the project, known as Phases 3 and 4, began in earnest.
Construction on the section of Grant Road, from Palo Verde Boulevard to Venice Place, will deliver a host of upgrades to one of the region’s busiest roadways.

Construction for the overall Grant Road improvement project, which extends from Oracle Road east to Swan Road, is managed by the City of Tucson and is one of 35 major roadway corridors approved by Pima County voters in 2006 as part of the 20-year Regional Transportation Authority plan. A significant portion of the funding for this corridor is derived from the RTA’s voter-approved half-cent sales tax.
“Grant Road is a vitally important corridor in the region’s urban core,” said Rick Ellis, Director of Transportation Services for Pima Association of Governments, which manages the RTA. “This improvement project will deliver greatly needed capacity, safety and multimodal enhancements that benefit mobility and connectivity for tens of thousands of residents who use the roadway every day.”
Major work on the current roadway segment under construction commenced in May and several activities are now fully underway. Planned improvements include six travel lanes, landscaped medians, buffered bike lanes, sidewalks, transit stop upgrades and drainage improvements throughout the whole length.
A key feature of the improvement project includes the addition of indirect left turns at the intersection of Alvernon Way and Grant. The indirect left turns will be used for left-turning traffic from Grant onto Alvernon. This type of configuration has been used on the previously constructed segments along the corridor, as well as other busy intersections throughout the region to keep traffic flowing safely through busy intersections.
The work will improve a roadway that was designed and constructed more than 50 years ago, at a time when the region’s population was much smaller and the standards of road design made fewer considerations for alternatives other than automobiles.
“The new roadway will incorporate modern designs that facilitate better traffic flow and accommodate all modes of transportation,” Ellis said.
Adding to pedestrian safety along the corridor, the completed project will fix the patchwork of sidewalks on either side of the road by installing 5- to 8-foot-wide pedestrian walkways. New, larger bike lanes will run parallel to vehicle travel lanes in each direction.
Cyclists and pedestrians also will enjoy new protected street crossing signals at Palo Verde Avenue and Dodge Boulevard. The upgraded roadway will better accommodate transit users, with bus shelters and benches. Bus pullouts will be added to improve safety by helping to avoid rear-end collisions, especially near intersections.
The project area traverses a mostly straight path through midtown Tucson, but because of the density of surrounding development combined with the age of utility infrastructure, preliminary work for the project was extensive. This included the acquisition of numerous properties along the roadway and relocation of miles of above- and below-ground utilities. Underground stormwater drainage systems also required relocation to accommodate the expanded roadway.
Construction activities will continue into late 2026, and additional project details can be found at www.grantroad.info/phase-3-4 .