Repaving funds shifting to bridge
BY ROB O'DELL, ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Nearly $13 million earmarked to repave Tucson streets over the next four years will be redirected to build the Cushing Street Bridge across the Santa Cruz River, linking downtown to the west side of Rio Nuevo.
The bridge, which Rio Nuevo was supposed to pay for until the district ran out of money, provides additional access to the museums and other Rio Nuevo attractions west of the river, the bulk of which the city no longer has the money to build.
City officials say street resurfacing won't suffer because Tucson got nearly $14 million in federal stimulus money for street paving, allowing them to divert $13 million in Pima Association of Government funds to the bridge, rather than spending the entire $27 million on road repairs.
They said the bridge is needed to carry the modern streetcar over the river to the west side of Rio Nuevo. The city still needs to win congressional approval for the federal 50 percent share of the $150 million-plus streetcar line from the University of Arizona through downtown to the west side, although the Federal Transit Administration has authorized its final design.
Not completing the bridge could jeopardize federal funds for the streetcar, Councilwoman Shirley Scott said. Still, Scott she was troubled by the move and wished the council had been notified before it was submitted to PAG.
She said there's no guarantee the city will get the federal money for the streetcar, and that $27 million worth of paving "could do a lot of good on our streets and roads."
The $13 million fund transfer is regional money available from PAG, whose regional council is to take a final vote on the shift Dec. 10. Two PAG committees have already blessed the the city's request to shift the funds.
But Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said he's not sure the county supports the transfer, given the cost of the bridge and the fact that the money comes from aregional pool. Huckelberry said all jurisdictions needed to apply for the PAG money, and added that maybe all available transportation money should be reallocated if the city gets approval.
"Money should be moved around carefully," he said.
If the PAG council approves, the expenditure would go to the City Council for a vote. But three current or future council members questioned why they never heard of the transfer until they were contacted by the Star.
Transportation Director Jim Glock said he put out a memo to the council in August about it. The memo included three lines about the bridge construction costs, and did not mention anything about using street-paving money to pay for it.
The city has already spent $1.5 million on the bridge, designing it four different times, and putting it out to bid twice because the first bid didn't use a federally compliant contracting process.
Although the bridge was originally to be finished by September 2009, because of federal permits that are needed, construction won't start until November 2010 and will last a year, just ahead of when planners hope to have the streetcar running.
After Rio Nuevo ran out of money, Glock said in August the city was seeking federal money to finish the bridge, never mentioning stimulus as a possible source. He said the bridge wasn't eligible for stimulus because it was not "shovel ready."
On Thursday, Glock said the city can divert some street paving funds because stimulus money can take their place.
Mayor Bob Walkup said he heard of the fund transfer only Friday, but he said he supports it because the city has struggled to find a way to pay for the bridge, which is needed for the streetcar. "The modern streetcar to west side is what's right for the community," Walkup said.
The Federal Transit Administration sent a letter to the city in September allowing it to start final design, and requesting quarterly reports on the progress on Cushing Street, as well as how it will be funded.
Among council members contacted by the Star, Scott and Rodney Glassman — through his aides — questioned the transfer. Only Regina Romero and Nina Trasoff said they had heard about it before this week.
Romero, who represents the west side, said the streetcar and the bridge are an important way to draw in private development to the area. She said using the PAG regional money makes sense because there are fewer strings attached to it than stimulus dollars.
Developer Jerry Dixon, who is involved with two large projects on the west side, including one where the final streetcar stop would be located, said the private development on the west side desperately needs the bridge and the streetcar.
"The bridge and the streetcar are the real game changers over there," he said.
Trasoff said she would love to use the money to pave streets, but building the bridge is a "greater good" because it allows the streetcar to be built. Plus, she said, building the bridge will create more jobs than paving streets.
"The modern streetcar is the backbone of redevelopment" not just for downtown but for the University of Arizona, Trasoff said.
But Steve Kozachik, who beat Trasoff in the November elections to take her council seat, said he was troubled by the city's lack of public disclosure of the transfer, adding many Tucsonans would rather have road paving than the Cushing Street bridge.
"I'm troubled by it," Kozachik said. "I'm concerned about the transparency aspect."
