Houghton Road project complete; on time and under budget

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - East-side residents have something to smile about this morning. Construction on Houghton Road from Irvington to Valencia is complete.

Drivers can now use the roadway without seeing rows of orange cones. Today they will celebrate the completion of this stretch of Houghton with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 9 a.m.

Construction began on the project in October 2012. The improvements are a six lane divided parkway, three lanes going north and three lanes going south on Houghton. Some of the new additions are rubberized asphalt for noise reduction; upgraded drainage, which is key. There were a number of times during a monsoon where the road would get flooded.

There are also new traffic signals, signs and new left and right hand turn lanes, plus bus pullouts every half mile.

The project was made possible by the City of Tucson, the RTA and Pima County. It was completed on time and under budget.

The ribbon cutting will be later this morning at 9 a.m. for the completion of this project.