The Arizona Department of Transportation submitted a competitive grant bid that, if awarded, would allocate approximately $65 million to speed up already-planned improvement projects on US 93 between Wickenburg and Interstate 40. 

If the grant application is approved, these competitive funds would be added to state match funding and additional federal dollars, for a potential total of more than $200 million for the improvements on US 93, in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration. 

The prospective funding and work would come from an Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). It would complement work already completed by ADOT, improving safety and removing existing bottlenecks along a major route between Phoenix and Las Vegas. 

The projects include a three-mile stretch of the highway near Cane Springs, four and a half miles near Big Jim Wash and three miles near Vista Royale. Together, these three projects will widen more than 10 miles of US 93 to a four-lane divided highway. Currently, fewer than 40 miles of US 93 between Wickenburg and I-40 remain a two-lane highway.

ADOT has dedicated nearly half a billion dollars to widening and improving US 93 in this region over the last several years. ADOT's long-term vision is to transform this highly traveled route into a four-lane divided highway. 

Improvements to these three segments will enhance safety and further prepare Arizona and the region for increased population growth, as well as economic and freight activity. US 93 between Wickenburg and Kingman is designated as the Future Interstate 11. With the grant, ADOT will improve project delivery through accelerated construction techniques delivering the improvements earlier than traditionally available.

For more information:/ and https://www.transportation.gov/

The Final Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement for the 280-mile Interstate 11 study corridor – stretching from Nogales to Wickenburg – is now available for public review. 

After five years of study, technical analysis and input from communities and stakeholders, this publication of the I-11 Final Tier 1 EIS marks a milestone for the proposed corridor.

The Final Tier 1 EIS, including a Preliminary Section 4(f) Evaluation, is available at i11study.com/Arizona/index.asp.

The website also lists locations throughout the study area where a hard copy of the Final Tier 1 EIS is available for review. The 30-day public review period runs through the close of business on Monday, Aug. 16. For information on how to submit a comment, visit the Contact Us page on the study website. That link is here: i11study.com/Arizona/ContactUs.asp.

Prepared by the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, the Final Tier 1 EIS was completed in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. It outlines the Preferred Corridor Alternative, including a parallel analysis of the No-Build Alternative.

The Final Tier 1 EIS focuses on the 2,000-foot-wide Preferred Corridor Alternative and the changes that were made since the publication of the 2,000-foot-wide Recommended Corridor Alternative in the Draft Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement in April 2019.

The Final Tier 1 EIS document is presented in a condensed format that avoids repetition of material from the Draft Tier 1 EIS. The Final Tier 1 EIS is a much shorter document, references the Draft Tier 1 EIS, and includes a complete overview of the project and its impacts on the environment. ADOT and FHWA decided to use the condensed format, in part, to streamline complex information as requested by several cooperating and participating agencies.

In addition to the Final Tier 1 EIS document that will be posted online and available as a hard copy document at designated repository locations, an Interactive EIS will also be available on the I-11 study website: i11study.com/Arizona/index.asp. This is the first time that ADOT has published an Interactive EIS. It contains the same information as the traditional Final Tier 1 EIS document in an interactive and engaging format. 

ADOT and FHWA listened to and read every public comment submitted during the Tier 1 study. The study team gave consideration to comments from the public and stakeholders during the Draft Tier 1 EIS 90-day public comment period from April 5, 2019 through July 8, 2019. ADOT and FHWA made changes to the corridor after the Draft Tier 1 EIS public comment process was complete. Appendix H of the Final Tier 1 EIS documents the comments received on the Draft Tier 1 EIS and provides responses to those comments. Appendix H can be found here: i11study.com/Arizona/Documents.asp.

The process to develop a Preferred Corridor Alternative for the Final Tier 1 EIS included technical analysis; coordination with study partners such as cooperating agencies, participating agencies and tribal governments; and the review and consideration of public input received at study milestones.

Once the 30-day public review period is complete for the Final Tier 1 EIS, ADOT and FHWA will work toward a Record of Decision (ROD). That document, which is scheduled to be published in late 2021, will identify a Selected Corridor Alternative or the No-Build Option. The ROD marks the end of the Tier 1 EIS process.

If a build corridor is selected at the end of the Tier 1 study, further Tier 2 studies and evaluations must take place before construction could be considered. The corridor would be narrowed to a highway alignment, which is about 400 feet wide. An alignment determining where I-11 could be built would be decided during a future phase of design and environmental studies. Currently there are no plans or funding available to initiate these Tier 2 studies.

The proposed I-11 is envisioned as a multi-use corridor that would provide a connection from Mexico to the Hoover Dam, connecting with I-11 in Nevada. This proposed statewide highway would improve Arizona’s access to regional and international markets while opening up new opportunities for enhanced travel, mobility, trade, commerce, job growth and economic competitiveness. While the evaluation phase of this high-priority and high-capacity transportation corridor has begun, funding for further studies, design and construction has not been identified.

In 2015, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, or FAST Act, formally designated I-11 in Arizona. The designation doesn’t include funding but identifies I-11 as a high-priority corridor eligible for federal funding. I-11 is envisioned to include a combination of new and existing roadways.

For more information about I-11 and the Final Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement, visit i11study.com/Arizona/index.asp.