Grant Road's Widening Is Finishing. The Next Mile Waits Until 2029.
Tucson's Grant Road rebuild between Sparkman and Swan wraps in late 2026 after $63.2 million and two and a half years. The next segment starts in 2029.
A $63.2 million rebuild of Grant Road between Sparkman and Swan is in its final weeks. What the finished mile includes, what the raised median permanently changes about business access, and what the city is now paying affected businesses.
Grant Road east of Alvernon is about to stop being a construction zone. Crews laid the last of the asphalt on the Sparkman-to-Swan segment in September; the city has said since its October 2025 project update that the work would be finished by the end of 2026, staff have told reporters October specifically, and people who live along it are quietly betting on a few weeks past that. After two and a half years of trenches, lane shifts and detours, the date is now a matter of weeks either way. What is worth knowing is that the part of this project that actually affects a property on Grant Road is not the construction. It is what the finished street does, and it is permanent.
- $63.2 million
- Construction cost of Phases 3 and 4 on the project's own site
- May 20, 2024
- Date construction began on Phases 3 and 4
- 6 lanes
- Finished cross-section, with 5-ft bike lanes and a 2-ft buffer each side
- Sept. 11, 2026
- Last scheduled day of final paving, with a temporary closure at Grant and Alvernon
- 7
- Indirect left-turn intersections between Oracle Road and Swan Road when the corridor is complete
- 2029
- Expected construction start for Phases 5 and 6, Fremont Avenue to Sparkman Boulevard
What a Finished Mile of Grant Road Has on It
The rebuilt section carries six travel lanes, five-foot bike lanes with a two-foot buffer, sidewalks five to eight feet wide on both sides, landscaped median islands, public art, and bus pullouts with shelters and benches. Protected crossings go in at the signalized intersections. Two notes if you go looking for this on a map: the project's own site and the city call this stretch Sparkman Boulevard to Swan Road while the RTA lists it as Alvernon Way to Swan Road — same work, with Alvernon the major intersection inside it, which is why September's final paving closed it temporarily. And the cost has moved. Earlier coverage put these phases at roughly $56 million; the project's own site now lists $63.2 million, which is the figure used here.
The Raised Median Is the Permanent Change, Not the Cones
The construction ends. The access design does not. A raised median with managed business access is the centerpiece of this corridor, and across the full Oracle-to-Swan project it pairs with seven indirect left-turn intersections — the design where you pass through the intersection and loop back rather than waiting in a left-turn pocket. The project's own published rationale puts numbers on it: roughly 16% fewer crashes, 30% fewer injury crashes, pedestrian crossing distances cut by about 20 feet, about 40% more green time for through traffic, and around 9% less fuel burned.
The trade is that you can no longer turn left into every driveway on the corridor. For a house on a side street that is a non-event. For a commercial parcel with Grant Road frontage it is a lasting change in how a customer physically reaches the door, and it is a question to ask directly — of the listing agent and of the recorded plans — before signing anything on this corridor. It is not something a drive-by at noon will tell you.
Two Businesses Did Not Make It, and the City Just Funded a Response
In July, two long-running businesses on the corridor announced they were closing and named the construction. Dante's Tavern's owner, Kenneth Foy, described the choice as building up debt with no clear timeline or getting out of the way. The American Antique Mall, run by Dwight and Christy Schannep for 33 years, has to vacate 7,500 square feet because the building is being demolished for a bus stop; Christy Schannep described a vacate date that moved from the following fall to the following July.
On September 24 the Tucson City Council approved a response, a one-year pilot called Ready, Steady, Open, funded with $345,000 from the American Rescue Plan. It offers a readiness grant up to $500, a stabilization grant up to $10,000 for businesses trying to hold on during construction, and a recovery grant up to $5,000 for afterwards. Eligibility is businesses with fewer than 25 employees that have been established in an affected area at least six months; liquor stores, smoke shops and adult establishments are excluded. Applications open October 1 for one month, with money going out starting in December. Grant Road qualifies, as do South 12th, Valencia, Fifth Street, 22nd Street, Park Avenue, Houghton and Silverbell. Separately, the RTA's MainStreet program has offered free business-assistance consulting to small businesses within a quarter mile of its projects since 2006.
Which Neighborhoods This Touches
- Garden District (Directly on it, Midtown): Grant Road is the Garden District's northern boundary, and Alvernon and Swan are its western and eastern ones — so the entire south frontage of the segment finishing now is this neighborhood's edge. It has absorbed the full two and a half years.
- Blenman-Elm (Next segment, Historic district): Grant Road is Blenman-Elm's northern boundary between Campbell and Country Club. That is inside the Phases 5 and 6 limits, which means this stretch has the start date rather than the finish line.
- Midtown Tucson (Corridor-wide, Central): Grant is one of midtown's main east-west arterials, and the six-lane cross-section now runs continuously only where it has been rebuilt. Travel times across the middle of the corridor stay unchanged until the last two phases are built.
Why the Rest of Grant Road Waits Until 2029
Phases 5 and 6 cover the middle of the corridor — Fremont Avenue to Sparkman Boulevard in the project's own phasing, which the RTA summarizes as Campbell Road to Country Club Road. The RTA lists right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation as underway, and KGUN 9 has reported that construction will not commence until 2029, after that multi-year acquisition and relocation process. The gap between a drawn plan and a shovel is the land: in November 2025 the Tucson City Council approved an additional $40 million for right-of-way acquisition on those phases, on top of the $5 million originally allocated for design work, drawn from previously allocated RTA funds rather than any new tax.
Grant Road was on the original 2006 RTA ballot, and the RTA's own corridor record shows Phases 5 and 6 moved into the 2026 plan. Pima County voters approved that plan — RTA Next, Propositions 418 and 419 — on March 10, 2026: a $2.67 billion, 20-year package, with Proposition 418 passing with about 61% in favor and the half-cent sales tax in Proposition 419 with nearly 59%. The RTA and the city marked its launch on August 14, 2026, and Grant Road appears on the City of Tucson's own RTA Next project list. That is the funding mechanism the last two phases now sit inside.
Three Questions Worth Asking on This Corridor
First, which side of the line a property sits on. East of roughly Sparkman, the disruption is over and the finished street is what you see. Between Campbell and Sparkman, the disruption has a projected start year instead of a finish date — a 2029 groundbreaking is a different ownership experience from a street that is already finished, and it is knowable in advance rather than a surprise.
Second, whether a parcel falls in a right-of-way acquisition footprint. Acquisition for Phases 5 and 6 is active right now, and the project notifies affected owners as the design advances. For anything with frontage between Fremont and Sparkman, that is a question for the city's Transportation Real Estate Division, not an inference from a plan set.
Third, for commercial frontage anywhere on the corridor: what the median does in front of the property, and from which directions a car can physically turn in. The barrels come down. That answer does not change.
Quick reference (October 4, 2026): Phases 3 and 4 of the Grant Road Improvement Project — Sparkman Boulevard to Swan Road, described by the RTA as Alvernon Way to Swan Road — began construction May 20, 2024 at a cost of $63.2 million on the project's own website, and are anticipated to finish in fall 2026; the City of Tucson's October 2025 update said by the end of 2026, and city staff have been quoted saying October 2026. Final paving ran from late August through September 11, 2026. Phases 5 and 6, Fremont Avenue to Sparkman Boulevard, are in right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation, with construction reported as not commencing until 2029. The City Council approved the Ready, Steady, Open business grant pilot on September 24, 2026, with applications opening October 1 for one month. Schedules, limits and costs on a multi-year public project change — confirm current details with the City of Tucson Department of Transportation and Mobility and the Grant Road project office before relying on any single figure.
Sources
Grant Road Improvement Project, City of Tucson — project website and FAQs — grantroad.info — accessed October 4, 2026 (for the $63.2 million construction cost and May 20, 2024 construction start for Phases 3 and 4, Sparkman Boulevard to Swan Road; the finished cross-section of six lanes, five-foot bike lanes with a two-foot buffer, five-to-eight-foot sidewalks on each side, landscaped median islands, landscaping and public art, and bus pullouts with shelters and benches; the seven indirect left-turn intersections between Oracle and Swan and the stated 16% crash reduction, 30% injury-crash reduction, roughly 20-foot shorter pedestrian crossings, approximately 40% increase in east-west through green time and about 9% fuel reduction; the Phases 5 and 6 limits of Fremont Avenue to Sparkman Boulevard; the property-acquisition notification process and the City's Transportation Real Estate Division; and the MainStreet Business Assistance Program)
Regional Transportation Authority of Pima County — "RTA Roadway Corridors," Grant Road, Oracle Road to Swan Road (ballot project 2006-18) — rtamobility.com/projects/corridors/ — accessed October 4, 2026 (for the corridor limits and scope; Phase 1 completed 2013 and Phase 2 completed 2018; Phases 3 and 4 described as Alvernon Way to Swan Road and under construction with anticipated completion in fall 2026; and Phases 5 and 6 described as Campbell Road to Country Club Road, moved to the 2026 RTA plan with utility relocation and right-of-way acquisition underway)
City of Tucson, Department of Transportation and Mobility — "The Road Ahead" October 2025 project updates — tucsonaz.gov/Departments/Transportation-Mobility/DTM-News-Releases/Transportation-and-Mobility-News-Listing/The-Road-Ahead — accessed October 4, 2026 (for the statement that Grant Road, Sparkman to Swan, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026)
KGUN 9 — "Grant Road Improvement Project driving along on schedule" — kgun9.com/news/community-inspired-journalism/midtown-news/grant-road-improvement-project-driving-along-on-schedule — accessed October 4, 2026 (for City of Tucson representatives saying Phases 3 and 4 remain on track to finish in October 2026 while nearby residents expect the date to slip by a few weeks; for Phases 5 and 6 construction not commencing until 2029 following property acquisition and utility relocation; and for property owner Jim Hogan's remark that no one can really measure how much financial loss there has been to business and property owners because of how long the work has taken)
KVOA — "Final paving begins on Tucson's Grant Road next week" (August 26, 2026) — kvoa.com/news/local/final-paving-begins-on-tucsons-grant-road-next-week/article_738c4c37-47aa-4804-a1fe-47e7a070d44d.html — accessed October 4, 2026 (for final paving on Phases 3 and 4 running through Friday, September 11, 2026, with a temporary closure restricting north-south travel at Grant Road and Alvernon Way, and for the lane restrictions, traffic shifts and temporary driveway-access limits during the work)
KVOA — "Two Tucson businesses closing citing Grant Road widening project" (July 6, 2026) — kvoa.com/community/two-tucson-businesses-closing-citing-grant-road-widening-project/article_2ac6e37e-a185-4e5b-a248-ee8f3242813f.html — accessed October 4, 2026 (for Dante's Tavern and owner Kenneth Foy's statement that the choices were to build up lots of debt with no clear timeline or get out of the way; and for the American Antique Mall, operated 33 years by Dwight and Christy Schannep, vacating 7,500 square feet for a building to be demolished for a bus stop, with Christy Schannep's account of a vacate date that moved from the fall of the following year to July)
Arizona Public Media — "City Council approves grants to assist businesses located in construction zones" (September 24, 2026) — news.azpm.org/p/news-splash/2026/9/24/231340-city-council-approves-grants-to-assist-businesses-located-in-construction-zones/ — accessed October 4, 2026 (for the Ready, Steady, Open program approved by the Tucson City Council, its $345,000 allocation from the American Rescue Plan, the readiness grant up to $500, stabilization grant up to $10,000 and recovery grant up to $5,000, applications opening October 1 for one month with disbursements beginning in December, eligibility limited to businesses with fewer than 25 employees established in an affected area at least six months with liquor stores, smoke shops and adult establishments excluded, the eligible corridors of South 12th, Grant, Valencia, Fifth Street, 22nd Street, Park Avenue, Houghton and Silverbell, and the one-year pilot structure)
KOLD News 13 — "$40 million added to Grant Road project" (November 18, 2025) — kold.com/2025/11/19/40-million-added-grant-road-project/ — accessed October 4, 2026 (for the Tucson City Council's November 18, 2025 approval of an additional $40 million for right-of-way acquisition on Phases 5 and 6, the $5 million originally allocated for design activities, the Phases 5 and 6 construction area between Park and Sparkman Boulevard, and the funding coming from previously allocated RTA funds requiring no new taxes)
Arizona Daily Star — "Pima County voters approve RTA Next plan, sales tax" (March 12, 2026, updated March 17, 2026) — tucson.com/news/election/results/article_54c6d181-0c7d-46fb-ae52-5dc72295e8ad.html — accessed October 4, 2026 (for Pima County voters' approval of the 20-year, $2.67 billion RTA Next regional transportation plan, Proposition 418 passing with about 61% in favor and the half-cent sales tax in Proposition 419 with nearly 59%, and the original RTA plan and its half-cent sales tax being set to expire in summer 2026)
Regional Transportation Authority of Pima County — "RTA, City of Tucson celebrate launch of 2026 RTA Plan and Irvington Road repaving project" (August 14, 2026) — rtamobility.com/get-involved/news/rta-city-of-tucson-celebrate-launch-of-2026-rta-plan-and-irvington-road-repaving-project/ — accessed October 4, 2026 (for voter approval of the 20-year, $2.67 billion regional transportation plan on March 10, 2026 and the August 14, 2026 launch event, and for Irvington Road between Houghton and Kolb as the first project in the plan's pavement rehabilitation element)
City of Tucson, Department of Transportation and Mobility — "RTA Next" project page — tucsonaz.gov/Departments/Transportation-Mobility/RTA-Next — accessed October 4, 2026 (for RTA Next as a 20-year, $2.67 billion regional plan for the greater Tucson area, and for Grant Road appearing on the City of Tucson's own RTA Next project list)
All details are current as of October 4, 2026; construction schedules, project limits, costs, grant program terms and right-of-way acquisition status on a multi-year public project change, so readers should confirm current information with the City of Tucson Department of Transportation and Mobility and the Regional Transportation Authority of Pima County 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.
Earlier coverage
- Grant Road's Midtown Finish Line — June 30, 2026
Topics
- New Development
- Infrastructure
- Grant Road
- Midtown Tucson
- Garden District
- Blenman-Elm
- RTA
- Transportation