River Bend Roadway Improvement Design

DOT 4 - River Road
from Campbell Avenue to Alvernon Way

DOT 5 - Alvernon Way
from River Road to Fort Lowell Road

The River Bend Roadway Improvements includes two projects being constructed simultaneously. The first, River Road from Campbell Avenue to Alvernon Way, will reduce congestion and enhance safety along River Road by widening and realigning the roadway, while the second, Alvernon Way from River Road to Fort Lowell Road, will extend Alvernon Way and add a bridge spanning the Rillito River.

Pima County Department of Transportation (PCDOT) will reduce congestion and enhance safety along River Road, while being sensitive to the environment and maintaining the integrity of the historic area. The extension of Alvernon Way and its subsequent merging with the realigned River Road will reduce traffic congestion, enhance safety on Dodge Boulevard and improve access to the Dodge/Binghampton area businesses and residences.

The new Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation facility—Brandi Fenton Memorial Park—will be located at the new intersection to the west of Dodge Boulevard, River Road and Alvernon Way. In addition to its inherent value to the community, this beautiful new park will draw people into the Dodge Binghampton area. The Dodge Boulevard bridge will remain open during and after construction, facilitating business and residential traffic.

A Public Open House to kick off the construction of the roadway project will be held in February of 2005. Construction is anticipated to begin in March. The length of the project will be twenty months and is scheduled for completion in fall of 2006. During construction one lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction as well as a center left-turn lane. Business and residential access will remain open. The public will be kept informed of construction activities and impacts through the Web site, individual contact, open house gatherings, traffic systems management (TSM) meetings and construction alerts.

The combined cost for improvements and enhancements for the two projects is approximately $18 million.

Please return to this Web site often for updates on these improvements.