Tucson adding more riprap rocks along I-10 underpasses at cost of $300K

Robert Roundtree Jr. has mixed feelings on the riprap rocks that line most of the ground near the underpass on Speedway. Roundtree is homeless, and he spends many of his days standing outside and asking for water, dollar bills or any other help from drivers who stop on the side of the road.

On the one hand, he says he interprets the rock as the city trying to curb people sleeping under the underpass on Interstate 10, which he isn’t surprised by. “If you are homeless we don’t want you,” said Roundtree, who is 64 and sleeps under a ramada.

But he also knows he’ll continue spending time under the underpass to rest in the shade. “I understand survival too… I can’t wind up crumpled and dehydrated and dead,” said Roundtree.

Follow up

Interested residents can contact Tucson City Manager Tim Thomure here , or the mayor and elected city council representatives here

Next week, Tucson plans to begin the installation of a new stretch of riprap under the I-10 corridor. The estimated cost, say city officials, will be $305,000, which includes $94K in lighting improvements and $210K in landscaping.

City officials say they are installing the rock covering because the underpass is meant to be a throughway, not a place where people camp or hang out.

“It’s about the safety of pedestrians,” Assistant City Manager Liz Morales told Arizona Luminaria. She said she was concerned about unhoused people who would be breathing in fumes or risk being hit by a car turning off the highway while spending a prolonged amount of time in an underpass. “It’s just not a healthy place for them to be.”

Homeless communities are the ones most likely to be face-to-face with the new rocks. Arizona Luminaria spoke to unhoused people near the I-10 underpass to learn more about the ways the ground-level rock infrastructure impacted their experience of the city.

Jennifer Atwood doesn’t mind the rocks. The 39-year-old has been living without a home for two years. She slept under the bridge before the rocks, but has also found riprap rocks that are flat enough to be made into a bed with a pile of blankets.

“I’m a really adaptable person,” says Atwood, who has lived in Tucson since she was 5.

City spokesperson Andrew Squire said the city was continually doing outreach to houseless people along the I-10 corridor, and would continue to do so as the rocks were put in place.

“We have been at each of these locations regularly over the past months and will be going out again in advance of the work beginning and will continue after the work is completed as there will still be houseless community members throughout the I-10 corridor area who we hope to engage in services and help get into sustainable, safe, and healthy shelter/housing.” said Squire in an email.

The work was beginning this fall because Department of Transportation staff wanted to get started after the city’s monsoon preparedness and response preparations were finished, said Squire.

The sidewalk area under the highway is technically state of Arizona property, but the city manages it under a joint agreement. The new riprap will be funded from Tucson’s allocation of Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) dollars , which are from car registration fees and a gasoline tax, among other things.

Architectural features like the riprap rock have been criticized in the past as “hostile architecture” that tries to shift engagement with public spaces by making a space usable or unusable for certain types of activities.

The previous riprap installation cost nearly $200,000 , according to reporting from a range of local news outlets.

The installation also included lights, which Morales said helped cars see pedestrians who may be crossing the street.

Since the first round of riprap was installed, Morales said, the city has seen less activity in the areas with riprap rocks. “We just don’t have people hanging out under the underpass anymore, that was the No. 1 thing,” she said.

She does not anticipate any additional riprap rock installations in city underpasses for the foreseeable future.

John Longhurst, 41, is another unhoused Tucson resident who often hangs out near the underpass along I-10. He finds himself there when it’s cold — the walls help make it a bit warmer, he says.

It can also be a place for companionship, because he would find other people hanging out there. “It helps with interaction and trading necessities,” he told Arizona Luminaria.

The post Tucson adding more riprap rocks along I-10 underpasses at cost of $300K appeared first on AZ Luminaria .