TUCSON - The Arizona Department of Transportation will host a public open house Wednesday, Oct. 19, in Tucson to share the details of its plan to develop a network of electric vehicle fast charging stations along interstate highways in Arizona. 

The meeting will be the first in a series of public meetings throughout the state to share details of the initial plan implementation and seek public input on which additional highways throughout the state should be added to the ADOT electric vehicle charging station network.

The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 19, from 5-7 p.m. at the Ramada by Wyndham, 777 W. Cushing St. in Tucson, in the Cactus Ballroom.

The meeting will be held in an open house format without a formal presentation. A recorded presentation with study details will be shown throughout the meeting and study team members will be on hand to provide information and answer questions.

The charging stations will be funded through the National Vehicle Infrastructure Program, or NEVI. The goal of the federal NEVI program is to encourage adoption of electric vehicles by improving the accessibility, reliability and equity of clean transportation options.

For more information about the EV plan, additional ways to provide input including an online survey, as well as details on upcoming meetings throughout the state, visit AZDOT.gov/EVPlan.

Arizona is one of the first states in the nation to have its Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan given the stamp of approval from the Federal Highway Administration. 

The Arizona Department of Transportation submitted its draft proposal in August and with the federal approval this week, $11.3 million will be made available immediately with another $16.3 million coming in October of this year to begin implementing the plan. This is a portion of the overall $76.5 million allocated for this program in Arizona over the next five years through the recently enacted federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) /planning/infrastructure-investment-and-jobs-act. 

The next step for ADOT is to solicit and award the contracts to upgrade existing stations as well as develop new locations along designated alternative fuel corridors. Advertising for bids to upgrade existing stations will begin in spring of 2023 followed by bid solicitations in autumn 2023 for new construction. The plan calls for stations to be no more than 50 miles apart wherever possible. 

In many cases, stations will be located where there is already infrastructure in place, such as truck stops, roadside lodging, restaurants and shopping centers, among other possibilities. 

Currently, the alternative fuel corridors are identified as all six of the federal Interstate Highways throughout the state. These are Interstates 8, 10, 15, 17, 19, and 40 which account for more than 20 percent of all the vehicle miles traveled in Arizona. Other non-interstate corridors will be determined and included in the plan in future years. The plan will next be updated in August of 2023. 

Among the specific goals of the plan are reducing electric vehicle drivers’ “range anxiety” by closing gaps in the charging network along the designated corridors and ensuring the network is resilient, equitable, accessible and reliable. Also the plan aims to identify new charging locations as part of an ongoing public outreach process and will use data to evaluate the system and make improvements. 

A copy of the plan, more information, and contact information to leave feedback are available here: /planning/transportation-studies/arizona-electric-vehicle-program