January 2022 ushers in a year in which funding for select future Arizona Department of Transportation projects will see an increase over the next five years. A portion of this increase is the result of the recent passage of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which uses a mix of funding determined by a formula, and money that will be available only through competitive grants. IIJA replaces the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST). The additional transportation funding is approximately a 20% increase from the existing federal funding the State of Arizona receives.

A Welcome, Complex and Transparent Program Process

“We welcome additional funding opportunities and the certainty provided by this legislation over the next five years,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “Federal funding for transportation is highly complex. We are committed to making this process transparent as part of managing the public’s expectations, and will work with our federal partners and other transportation stakeholders to maximize the impact. We will continue to be aggressive and innovative to ensure Arizona takes advantage of every funding source.”

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Funding

IIJA money won’t necessarily begin to flow to projects immediately, and ADOT does not yet know the timing of funding and specific final amounts. For that reason, projects that will utilize the funding cannot yet be determined.

• Arizona expects to receive through the IIJA an increase of more than $200 million a year over the next five fiscal years between 2022 and 2026.
• That $200 million per year is part of an overall $5.3 billion (over five years) in what is known as “formula funding” allocated to the state based on an objective formula. 
• ADOT will retain some of that money for projects, while significant IIJA funding will be sent to local government agencies for their transportation projects, such as local street improvements, public transportation and airports. 
• The exact funding amounts and recipients won’t be known until federal funding notices are provided by federal agencies later in 2022. 
• Competitive funding requires transportation agencies to submit competitive bids for discretionary money available from the federal government. ADOT will rely on added guidance from federal agencies to better understand what opportunities may be available for the state to pursue. 
• Also of note – ADOT’s construction costs have increased 56% over the last five years, which means previously approved funding does not go as far as initially forecasted.

Arizona State Transportation Board/Five Year Program

Projects funded by new money from IIJA will be approved by the Arizona State Transportation Board. ADOT projects require a robust planning and approval process. The overseeing authority is the Board, which approves a new Five Year Program each spring, with annual budgets adjusted to the latest financial forecasts set for each fiscal year. The Board awards construction contracts, monitors the status of construction projects and has the exclusive authority to issue revenue bonds for transportation financing. All meetings are open to the public.

Each year, the Board considers various updates to ADOT’s Five Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program. This is essentially the blueprint for upcoming transportation projects. Projects may also require extensive review and approval for environmental, civil rights and other concerns.

Major Projects Previously Funded and Underway

As 2022 progresses, Arizonans will see significant movement on major transportation projects funded prior to the IIJA. These include a key economic corridor in southern Arizona, as well as improvement projects on both I-17 and I-10:

• State Route 189 in Nogales.
• Interstate 17 from Anthem Way to Sunset Point.
• Interstate 10 Broadway Curve Improvement Project. 
• Another potential, future project that has received significant attention is the proposed I-11 corridor, which would span 280 miles between Nogales and Wickenburg. I-11 is in the preliminary study phase, and no funding has been identified for additional, required environmental studies, planning or other work.
• Dozens of other projects all around the state.    

Project Investment Categories

While new roads attract significant attention, ADOT also is focused on maintaining and operating existing roads and other infrastructure. Similar to how a homeowner does maintenance on their home, ADOT plans upkeep and unplanned work to repair assets all around the state and respond to specific conditions, incidents or events. This link to ADOT’s Project Investment Categories. 

Visit ADOT’s website to learn more, and subscribe for updates to receive ongoing information about specific projects. 

The Arizona Department of Transportation has signed an agreement with the developer team that will design, build, operate and maintain the Interstate 17 Improvement Project from Anthem Way to Sunset Point. 

The total project cost is $445,940,000, which includes the construction cost by the developer team, along with ADOT’s cost to administer the project. 

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2022 and is expected to take approximately three years. Now that the contract is signed, work can begin on this highly anticipated project that will include 15 miles of widening from Anthem Way to Black Canyon City and eight miles of flex lanes from Black Canyon City to Sunset Point.

The developer team is Kiewit-Fann Joint Venture. Key members of the team include Kiewit Infrastructure West Co.; Fann Contracting Inc.; Kiewit Engineering Group Inc.; DBI Services LLC; CONSOR Engineers LLC dba Apex Design; T.Y. Lin International; Lee Engineering; Terracon Consultants Inc.; Wheat Design Group, Inc.; Y2K Engineering; and Pinyon Environmental Inc.

The KFJV developer team was selected over two other finalists after an extensive review by ADOT with oversight from representatives from the Federal Highway Administration and the Maricopa Association of Governments. All three developer team finalists were encouraged to use innovation and develop alternative concepts to reduce project time and impacts to the traveling public and community while construction is underway.

Interstate 17 between Anthem Way and Sunset Point is a major stretch of highway that sees more than one million travelers every year. Because much of that travel and congestion occur on weekends, ADOT and the KFJV developer team will limit most of the lane closures to weeknights from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. All motorists still need to be cautious and alert in the construction zone, which will be active seven days a week. 

Once complete, the I-17 Improvement Project will help alleviate congestion and improve safety and traffic flow north of the metro-Phoenix region. This project will improve 23 miles of I-17, including 15 miles of roadway widening, two bridge replacements, one bridge deck replacement, 10 bridge widenings, and the installation of an eight-mile flex lane system—a new feature  for Arizona’s highway system. Flex lanes are proven technology to help reduce congestion on I-17 during peak travel times and allow for traffic movement during emergency situations. 

The I-17 flex lanes will operate as a separate, two-lane roadway carrying one direction of traffic at a time depending on the greatest need along the steep, winding eight miles between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point. For example, the flex lanes will be able to carry heavy northbound traffic on a Friday or heavy southbound traffic on a Sunday. Similarly, ADOT will be able to open the flex lanes to accommodate traffic any time if a crash or other incident causes long delays. The flex lanes will be next to, but physically separated from southbound I-17 using concrete barriers. Access to the flex-lane entrances will be controlled by gates.   

In February, Governor Ducey announced $40 million in funding for the I-17 Improvement Project from higher-than-anticipated revenue amid Arizona’s strong economic recovery and federal COVID-relief funds. Additional project funding sources include:

$130 million of state highway funds appropriated by the state legislature in 2019

$90 million from an Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant

$50 million programmed by the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) for the Maricopa County portion of this project

$135.9 million from federal aid with matching state highway funds. That includes $83.6 million approved by the Arizona State Transportation Board on Oct. 15, clearing the way for construction to begin in 2022. 

For more information about the I-17 Improvement Project, visit azdot.gov/i17-anthem-way-to-sunset-point.