By Arizona Department of Transportationย ย
Governorย Dougย Duceyย today announced $230Mย in new transportation infrastructure investments that will enhance highway safety and meet the demand of new residents moving to Arizona.โฏย
The funding comes from transportation dollars, including higher than anticipated revenue amid Arizonaโs strong economic recovery, and federalย COVID-relief funds.ย
The projects include:โฏย
- $33Mย to rebuild and widen theย Gila River Bridgeย onย Interstate 10ย between Phoenix and Tucson, paving the way for a full expansion ofย I-10ย between the two cities;โฏย
- $41Mย to widenย U.S. Route 93ย north of Wickenburg;โฏย
- $40Mย to add capacity toย Interstate 17ย north of metro Phoenix; andโฏย
- $117Mย to improve more than 600 highway lane-miles across the state.โฏย
The funding plan is in partnership with theย Arizona Department of Transportationย and follows formal action byย ADOTโsย Priority Planning Advisory Committee. The proposal now will go before the State Transportation Board for consideration.ย
Theย I-10 Gila River Bridgeย is the first step in completing the widening of a key commerce corridor between Phoenix and Tucson. The project will rebuild and widen the I-10 bridge to three lanes in each direction over the Gila River and open opportunities to further widen I-10 in both directions. That project will start construction in 2022.ย
Road improvements will address rough conditions on more than 600 lane-miles of highways around the state, with nearly 400 of those lane-miles located in rural counties. These 19 projects are expected to be complete in 2022 and will reduce long-term maintenance costs and enhance safety.ย
The projects will be funded with $150.3Mย of COVID-19 relief monies allocated to the state and $80Mย in state transportation funds, including revenue that exceeded earlier revenue projections. As part of the plan, Maricopa County and Pima County regions will receive $31.3Mย for transportation investments through theย COVID-19 Emergency Relief Act.ย
Arizonaโs populationโฏgrewโฏby nearly 120,700 people from July 2018 to July 2019, according toย U.S. Census Bureauย estimates released in December 2019.โฏย
Funding from the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Act is part of a $900B stimulus plan approved byย Congressย in 2020. (Source)ย