Two Ballot Measures Are Rebuilding the Same Midtown Street
Fifth and Sixth streets are being rebuilt from Campbell to Wilmot under Props 407 and 101. Streetlights switch on in September; Fifth finishes mid-2027.
Proposition 407 is paying for sidewalks, lighting and shade on Sixth Street. Proposition 101 is paying to tear Fifth Street down to dirt and rebuild it narrower. Both land on the same midtown blocks.
From 7 p.m. on Friday, August 21 until 7 a.m. on Monday, August 24, the intersection of Fifth Street and Alvernon Way did not exist as a place you could drive through. Crews took the asphalt and base layers out, ran underground conduit, rewired the traffic signals, graded a new road base, and laid both the bottom and top lifts of pavement — the entire rebuild of an intersection, compressed into one weekend, with police officers on site routing drivers around it. The City of Tucson chose a full closure precisely so the work would not stretch across weeks of lane restrictions.
That intersection is one node in a corridor project that runs from Campbell Avenue all the way east to Wilmot Road. It is easier to follow if you stop thinking of it as one project: two different ballot measures, passed a year and a half apart, are paying for two different kinds of work on the same midtown blocks.
- Campbell to Wilmot
- Limits of the Fifth Street/Sixth Street corridor work
- $225M
- Size of the 2018 Proposition 407 bond, $67 million of it for connectivity projects
- $100M
- Street share of Proposition 101, the half-cent sales tax approved in May 2017
- September 2026
- When the new streetlights on the Sixth Street segment are activated
- Mid-2027
- Anticipated completion of the Fifth Street reconstruction
Two Propositions, One Corridor
From Campbell Avenue east to Alvernon Way, the work is the Proposition 407 Strong Connections Pedestrian and Walkability project: complete, connected sidewalks on both sides of the road, enhanced street crossings, street lighting, ADA-compliant ramps, and landscaping for shade. Proposition 407 was the $225 million bond Tucson voters approved on the November 6, 2018 ballot, 55.87 percent in favor — $133 million for parks, $67 million for connectivity projects like this one, and $25 million for greenways, with the property tax rate held flat by retiring old bonds as new ones were issued.
From Country Club Road east to Wilmot Road, it is a different job entirely: a complete reconstruction of Fifth Street, including a new water line through the full project limits. The city lists that work under Proposition 101, Tucson Delivers – Better Streets, Package 5, with Hunter Contracting doing the work. Proposition 101 was the half-cent sales tax Tucson voters approved on May 16, 2017 with 61.9 percent in favor — about $250 million over five years, split 60-40 with $150 million to the police and fire departments and $100 million to street repair and maintenance.
Where the Work Stands Right Now
The water line installation between Country Club and Wilmot is finished, which is what cleared the way for roadway reconstruction. Crews milled the north side from Country Club to Alvernon and paved its bottom lift in mid-August; top-lift paving on that stretch is scheduled for October. Through August and September, landscaping goes in across the segment along with the westbound poles for new HAWK pedestrian signals at Palo Verde and Camino Miramonte, and the new streetlights are switched on in September. On July 20 crews started milling the south side from Alvernon east to Swan Road, with access restricted at Irving and Belvedere avenues during that stretch of work.
The city mailed an informational postcard to neighbors along the corridor the week of July 13, and it has been publishing the schedule street by street — Richey Boulevard closed for three days in June for milling, Palo Verde Boulevard stayed closed through late June while crews built a valley gutter down the middle of the road to move stormwater, Dodge Boulevard's north side stayed closed through late July. If you live, shop or are house-hunting along these blocks, that cross-street-by-cross-street calendar is the single most useful thing the project publishes.
Fifth Street Comes Back Narrower
The rebuilt Fifth Street is not a like-for-like replacement. The reconfigured striping plan gives the corridor one travel lane in each direction, a center turn lane, and bike lanes. The center turn lane went in after the south-side paving phase that began March 2 and ran into mid-April. For a resident on a side street, a center turn lane is the difference between waiting for a full gap in two directions of traffic and having somewhere to sit while you make the turn.
- Campbell Avenue to Alvernon Way (Proposition 407, Sidewalks and shade, HAWK signals): Connected sidewalks on both sides, enhanced crossings, street lighting, ADA ramps and landscaping. Streetlights activate in September; HAWK signal poles go in at Palo Verde and Camino Miramonte.
- Country Club Road to Alvernon Way (Proposition 101, North side paved, Top lift in October): Full reconstruction with a new water line, already complete. Bottom-lift paving on the north side went down in mid-August; the top lift is scheduled for October.
- Alvernon Way to Swan Road (Milling since July 20, South side first, Finishes mid-2027): The newest section of active work. Crews began milling the south side of the roadway on July 20, 2026, with the full Fifth Street project anticipated to wrap in mid-2027.
Buying or Selling on a Corridor Mid-Rebuild
A house that sells during construction and the same house that sells in 2028 are being sold into two different streetscapes. Right now the honest description of some of these blocks includes milled pavement, closed side streets and a postcard from the transportation department. What is being built is durable and physical: a replaced water main under the roadbed, connected sidewalk on both sides, streetlights, ADA ramps, bike lanes, shade landscaping and a valley gutter engineered to keep stormwater out of the street. Those are the kinds of improvements that outlast the inconvenience of installing them.
The practical move for anyone touring midtown this fall is to read the schedule before reading the listing. The city publishes closures by cross street with dates attached, which means you can find out whether the block you are considering is between milling and paving or already finished — and that is a more specific answer than any impression you would form driving through once on a Saturday.
Quick reference (August 31, 2026): The Fifth Street/Sixth Street corridor project runs from Campbell Avenue to Wilmot Road. Campbell to Alvernon is the Proposition 407 Strong Connections Pedestrian and Walkability project — sidewalks, crossings, lighting, ADA ramps and shade landscaping — funded from the $225 million bond voters approved November 6, 2018. Country Club to Wilmot is a full reconstruction of Fifth Street with a new water line, listed by the city under Proposition 101, Tucson Delivers – Better Streets, and built by Hunter Contracting; the rebuilt street carries one lane each direction plus a center turn lane and bike lanes. Fifth Street and Alvernon Way were fully closed from 7 p.m. Friday, August 21 to 7 a.m. Monday, August 24 for an intersection rebuild. Streetlights on the Sixth Street segment activate in September 2026, top-lift paving from Country Club to Alvernon is scheduled for October, and the Fifth Street project is anticipated to be complete in mid-2027. Construction schedules move with weather and materials — confirm current closures with the City of Tucson Department of Transportation and Mobility before planning around any single date.
Sources
City of Tucson Department of Transportation and Mobility — "Fifth/Sixth Street Corridor" (project page, updated July 15, 2026) — dtmprojects.tucsonaz.gov/pages/fifth-sixth-street — accessed August 31, 2026 (for the project limits, the Prop 407 walkability scope, the Prop 101 reconstruction scope and Package 5 designation, the completed water line, the August 21–24 full closure of Fifth Street and Alvernon Way and its work list, the mid-August bottom-lift paving and October top-lift schedule, the August–September landscaping and HAWK poles at Palo Verde and Camino Miramonte, the September streetlight activation, the July 20 start of south-side milling from Alvernon to Swan, the Irving and Belvedere access restrictions, the July 13 postcard mailing, the Richey, Palo Verde and Dodge Boulevard closures, the Palo Verde valley gutter, and the mid-2027 completion target)
KGUN 9 — "Fifth Street reconstruction from Country Club to Alvernon set to begin March 2" — kgun9.com/news/community-inspired-journalism/midtown-news/fifth-street-reconstruction-from-country-club-to-alvernon-set-to-begin-march-2 — accessed August 31, 2026 (for the March 2, 2026 start of south-side milling and paving, the mid-April end of that phase, the center turn lane built after it, Hunter Contracting as the contractor, and the Proposition 101 Tucson Delivers – Better Streets funding)
Arizona Public Media (AZPM) — "Tucson Voters Approve Sales Tax for Public Safety, Roads" (May 16, 2017) — news.azpm.org/p/news-articles/2017/5/16/110688-tucson-voters-to-sales-tax-hike-for-public-safety-roads/ — accessed August 31, 2026 (for the half-cent rate, the five-year term, the 61.9 percent approval, the roughly $250 million estimate, and the 60-40 split of $150 million for police and fire and $100 million for street repair and maintenance)
Arizona Public Media (AZPM) — "Voters to Decide on $225M Bond Plan to Improve Tucson Parks" (October 18, 2018) — news.azpm.org/p/news-articles/2018/10/18/139309-voters-to-decide-on-225m-bond-plan-to-improve-tucson-parks/ — accessed August 31, 2026 (for the $133 million parks, $67 million connectivity and $25 million greenway split of Proposition 407, and for the property tax rate staying flat as old bonds were retired)
Arizona Public Media (AZPM) — "Local Ballot Initiatives: Roads, Parks and Elections" (November 6, 2018) — news.azpm.org/p/tucsonelections/2018/11/6/140536-local-ballot-initiatives-roads-parks-and-elections/ — accessed August 31, 2026 (for the November 6, 2018 election date, the $225 million bond amount, and the 55.87 percent approval)
All figures are current as of August 31, 2026; construction schedules, funding allocations and project scopes change, so readers should confirm current information before relying on any single figure. This post is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase real estate. Kyle Berglund and Tierra Antigua Realty fully support and comply with the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.
Topics
- New Development
- Fifth Street
- Sixth Street
- Midtown Tucson
- Proposition 407
- Proposition 101
- Infrastructure
- Tucson