Summer's gone, and the snowbirds are coming back. The Interstate 10 widening project that began this summer is right on track, and maybe a little ahead of schedule.
Maybe it's me, but the predictions about a deleterious effect on commerce in this town of more than a million seem to have been overblown.
I drive up Starr Pass on the way home most nights. It's the 22nd street intersection with the Interstate, where the closed-for-the-duration section of I-10 begins. People have learned to adjust.
What Tucsonans call rush hour traffic would be considered a blessing in most cities our size on the east coast. That's true even with all the exits between 22nd Street and Prince completely blocked off, and the two-lane corridors reduced to a combined width of 22 feet.
At the inception of the I-10 project, the speed limit in the narrower-than-usual corridors was reduced to 45. It wasn't necessary, and after a few weeks, ADOT raised it back up to 55. I do the speed limit, and tractor-trailers blow right past me.
The frontage roads have taken up the slack without much effort, and Tucson is gearing up for the annual Gem Show that takes over the city for the month of February. The show brings the international set to Tucson, and real estate purchases by international buyers spike up. It won't be any different this year.
It's going to be just fine. Come on down!
And that's the real estate opinion of this Tucson Mortgage Lender!
Calie, it's nothing like the 10 at the 60 interchange at 7:00 in the morning! Thanks for the group post; I'm hoping to get together with your group next Tuesday.
Bill and Barbara Jo, it's cyclical. Every once in awhile, you folks in Florida get a twister/hurricane, and we hold court at Tucson International Airport! LOL
Dan, don't snowbirds come ready-made with checkbooks? Thanks for commenting.
Mike in Tucson