The Regional Transportation Authority board has advanced a $2.7 billion draft transportation plan to Pima County supervisors, the next step before voters decide in March on funding for roads, transit, safety and wildlife crossings.

Voters approved a half-cent sales tax in 2006 to fund the current Regional Transportation Authority plan, which expires in June. Voters will be asked to extend the same sales tax to fund the next 20-year plan, called RTA Next.

To date, the city of Tucson has received 60% of RTA funds, with Pima County receiving 20%. The remaining 20% is divided between the seven other member jurisdictions.

The nine-member RTA board advanced the plan by a vote of 8-0, with board member and Pascua Yaqui Tribe Chairman Julian Hernandez absent from the meeting.

Board member and Pima County Supervisor Matt Heinz abstained from an earlier vote on the final draft of the plan, saying in previous meetings that he believed more public input was needed before sending the plan to voters.

Board member and State Transportation Board representative Ted Maxwell said during Monday's meeting that there will be more public feedback before the March 2026 election, noting that every project in the plan will go through engagement with the municipalities involved.

The new plan allocates $1.4 billion to improve roadway corridors, $726 million to transit and $50 million for environmental projects, including wildlife crossings in high-traffic areas.

Other funding allocations include:

• $177.6 million for arterial roadway reconstruction.
• $10 million for small business assistance.
• $254.6 million for safety, ADA and active transportation projects.

“Although South Tucson is often overlooked in regional decisions, I am filled with gratitude for my colleagues on the board for recognizing our challenges and investing more money in transit,” South Tucson Mayor and RTA board member Roxanna Valenzuela said in a video on her Instagram page Tuesday.

Valenzuela said she’s excited for the region’s future with the new funding.

“I can't stress enough how important transit is for our community, which is mostly made up of low income residents, who also see transit just as essential as the roads themselves.”

State Transportation Board representative Maxwell applauded Valenzuela’s efforts to allocate more funds to South Tucson.

(She) “stood up when funds were moving away from South Tucson,” Maxwell said in a comment on Valenzuela’s post. “(This is) a big investment in South Tucson, both in the transit area for more frequent routes and service, and there's also money to take care of the roads as well as a big safety project.”

Valenzuela also thanked Sahuarita Mayor Tom Murphy for supporting this version of the plan, which included a more robust investment in South Tucson than previous versions.

“We only win if we win as a region, not individually,” Murphy said.

The RTA Next plan includes $258 million to finish projects from the 2006 plan that were unable to be completed in the 20-year timeframe because of the 2008 recession and a recent spike in labor and material costs.

Some of the unfinished projects include:

• Completion of the widening of Grant Road to six lanes.
• The addition of bike lanes and sidewalks from Fremont Avenue to Sparkman Boulevard.
• Rebuilding First Avenue, from Grant Road to River Road, as a four-lane divided highway with added bicycle, pedestrian and drainage improvements.
• Projects on 1st Avenue, 22nd Street, Houghton Road and Tangerine Road.

The RTA Next plan also includes the completion of 18 corridor projects.

“I think this a good step forward. We had to make a decision today, and this draft is the best plan that I've seen so far,” Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said in a statement on Facebook following the board’s vote. “It includes millions of dollars worth of investment for South Tucson and Tucson, millions more invested for transit, which is really important for working class families, and includes $51 million for safety in our transit system, which people are telling us they want to see.”

Colton Allder is a journalism major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact him at callder1995@arizona.edu.

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