Tucson’s $197 million for street car, $3 million in lawsuits

The City of Tucson would like the world to know final weld marks completion of controversial streetcar track installation – The last weld was made on the Modern Streetcar track linking the University of Arizona, downtown and the West side of Interstate 10. The weld completes the four mile route, the track for which is 35,356 feet, or about 6.7 miles, in actual length.

The $197 million project does not include a minimum of $3 million in lawsuits from citizens injured during the construction, or the $4 million in consultant fees for observing the parallel streetcar being installed in Portland.

Sun Link that was formed in 2006 with the RTA election, also known as the Tucson Modern Streetcar, is a single-line streetcar system under construction with service scheduled to begin July 2014. The system’s 3.9-mile route will connect the Arizona Health Sciences Center (including University Medical Center), the University of Arizona campus, the Main Gate and 4th Avenue shopping and entertainment districts, Downtown Tucson, the Tucson Convention Center, and the (non-existant) Mercado District west of Interstate 10.[6] The system’s projected cost of $197 million is being met through a combination of local funding sources and federal grants from taxpayers.

Representatives of city, county and federal governments joined an audience of reporters, downtown merchants and other onlookers for the historic event. The Modern Streetcar project, which includes repair and replacement of underground utilities, streets and other infrastructure, is the largest construction project ever undertaken by the City of Tucson.