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The Regional Transportation Authority board decided Wednesday to fund the planning stages of some road projects a little earlier than anticipated.

The Grant Road widening project, which has been the subject of many community discussions before and since voters approved the 20-year, $2 billion transportation plan, will receive funding for a planning and alignment study in the next year, one year earlier than initially planned.

The planning study for the Broadway widening also will be granted one year earlier.

The Tucson Department of Transportation asked for earlier funding for those projects because the property owners adjacent to the roads are concerned about how the widening will affect them, said Jim Glock, director of the department.

The sooner the alignment of those roads is decided, the more advance notice the city can give the affected property owners, he said.

Grant Road will be widened to six lanes from North Oracle Road to North Swan Road. Broadway will be widened to six through lanes from Euclid Avenue to Country Club Road. Construction on both projects is scheduled to begin in the second five-year phase of the 20-year plan.

The time frame for the projects is advancing because the public already is interested in the planning and design stages, said Tim Ahrens, RTA manager.

The board also approved earlier funding for the design portion of an intersection improvement at South Houghton and East Sahuarita roads.

Funding for that project was advanced because it is a high priority for Pima County.

The planning and pre-design work for widening 22nd Street from Interstate 10 to Tucson Boulevard also was approved for funding.

That project will affect the design of the Barraza-Aviation Parkway and also will help traffic avoid the Downtown area because it is another route to I-10.

The road needed attention because it will affect the parkway changes also approved in the RTA plan, Glock said.

Community participation already has started for most of these projects, he said.

The projects in the transportation plan can be accelerated but they cannot be delayed, said Gary Hayes, RTA executive director.