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RTA staff: $880 million needed to finish 2006 plan; RTA Next draft plan outreach completed
Summary
Pima County’s Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) staff presented a cost-to-complete analysis showing an $880 million need to finish the 2006 RTA plan; the RTA five-year TIP holds about $695 million, leaving a reported shortfall of roughly $195 million. Public outreach for RTA Next included 14 open houses and an online survey.
The City’s RTA representative and transportation staff briefed the council on Feb. 19 about a regional cost-to-complete exercise and the RTA Next public outreach effort.
Director Sam Credio reported that RTA staff’s ‘cost to complete’ work estimates roughly $880 million to finish the projects in the 2006 RTA plan. He compared that to the five-year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which currently lists about $695 million available over the five-year window, leaving an approximate shortfall of $195 million. Credio told the council two city-priority projects—Grant Road segments (5 and 6) and First Avenue (River to Grant)—are not fully funded in the TIP and remain outstanding city obligations in the regional plan.
Credio said there are 21 remaining projects in the RTA plan; four projects have been deferred into an RTA Next planning exercise, leaving 17 remaining projects to complete the original program, with 12 of those assigned to the City of Tucson. RTA Next outreach included 14 in-person open houses across Pima County from November 2024 through January 2025 and one virtual event; the public survey closed Jan. 31 and staff expect preliminary results to be part of the RTA board discussion.
Credio told council that the RTA board is scheduled to meet March 3 and is expected to continue the cost-to-complete conversation at that time. Council members asked for onboarding for new board members and requested staff briefings summarizing incomplete projects and outstanding funding needs so the new RTA board can proceed from a shared baseline.
What’s next: RTA staff will present additional detail at the March 3 RTA board meeting; the city asked RTA/PAG staff to provide updated materials and onboarding for new board members representing recent jurisdictional changes.
