On Friday (June 19), the State Transportation Board met in Pinetop-Lakeside and voted to adopt the 2016-2020 Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program…

That means projects designed to preserve, modernize and expand Arizona’s highway system now have formal approval to move forward as part of ADOT’s annual five-year planning process.

You might remember that we blogged about the start of the process back in March, when ADOT made a call to the public for comments on the plan. Since that time, ADOT has held three public hearings and has collected email, phone and online comments.

If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know that the plan acts as a blueprint, detailing where, when and how funding (that includes regional, state and federal money) will be spent for future ADOT projects. It gets updated annually and when finalized, it helps ADOT to prioritize which projects move forward first. Funding for the Five-Year Program is generated by the users of transportation services, primarily through gasoline and diesel fuel taxes, and the vehicle license tax.

New 2016-2020 plan

Much like the current Five-Year Program, the newly adopted 2016-2020 Five-Year Program reflects a major focus on preserving the existing state highway system while moving some high-priority expansion projects forward. ADOT must prioritize projects due to continued low revenue from the gas and vehicle license taxes and from decreased federal funding — all of which support the Five-Year Program. ADOT’s continued focus on preservation allows the department to protect its investment of $19.7 billion in the state highway system. Without a commitment to preservation, it would cost approximately $200 billion to replace the system.

Both the Maricopa and Pima county regions in the two metropolitan areas have independent revenue streams established through voter-approved sales tax increases that allow for more expansion projects to take place and for more transportation funding overall.

Please check out ADOT’s recent news release, for an overview of major projects in Greater Arizona, the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) region and the Pima Association of Governments (PAG) region during the 2016-2020 Five-Year Program.

You can also view the entire plan, along with an outline on transportation planning on our website.

The State Transportation Board voted last week to adopt the 2015-2019 Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program…

This means that projects to preserve, modernize and expand Arizona’s highway system have now formally been approved to move forward over the next five years.

You’ll remember that the five-year program is updated every year and serves as a blueprint that details where, when and how regional, state and federal funding will be spent for projects over the next five years to improve the state’s transportation infrastructure (this includes highways, bridges, transit and aviation). It is divided into three sections: the Maricopa County region, the Pima County region and the 13 counties that make up Greater Arizona.

Each five-year program begins with a long-range visioning process, moves into a more realistic 20-year plan and finally yields each Five-Year Program. The program is developed by working closely with local planning organizations and community leaders to identify ready-to-construct or design projects. Funding for the Five-Year Program is generated by the users of transportation services, primarily through the gasoline tax and the vehicle license tax.

2015-2019 Program

The board’s recent action determines which projects are now programmed in Greater Arizona while allocating dedicated funding to the preservation of Arizona’s existing highway system over the next five years. In addition, six major projects will move forward in the Pima County region and four major projects will advance in the Maricopa County region using, in part, funding generated by those regions.

Much like the current Five-Year Program, the 2015-2019 Five-Year Program reflects a major focus on preserving the existing state highway system while moving some programmed projects forward. ADOT must prioritize projects due to stagnant revenue from the gas and vehicle license taxes and from decreased federal funding — all of which support the Five-Year Program. The 2015-2019 Five-Year Program includes a three-percent increase in preservation spending over the current program, with a steady increase in preservation funding over the next 10 years.

The following is the list of projects for Greater Arizona during the 2015-2019 Five-Year Program. The list includes three projects that were added to the program during this spring’s public comment period, as the board provided input to ADOT planners.

* State Route 347 Railroad Overpass: Total project cost is $55 million.
FY 2015: $5.5 million allocated for design and $500,000 allocated for right of way.
FY 2016: $5.5 million allocated for right of way.
FY 2017: $7.3 million allocated for right of way.
FY 2020: $36.2 million for construction (note that this portion of the project is in the 2020-2024 Development Program).

* State Route 189, Nogales to Interstate 19: Total project cost is $69 million.
FY 2016: $2 million allocated for environmental work.
FY 2018: $4 million allocated for design.
FY 2022: $63 million for construction (note that this portion of the project is in the 2020-2024 Development Program).

* US 60, Show Low to Little Mormon Lake: $6 million allocated in FY 2018 for this project, which will add turn lanes, widen the roadway and construct intersection improvements.

* US 60, Silver King Section and Superior Streets: $45 million allocated in FY 2015 for this widening project (reconstruct to a four-lane roadway with a center turn lane).

* US 95, Fortuna Wash Bridge Construction: $13.5 million allocated in FY 2015 for construction of a new bridge.

* State Route 260, Interstate 17 to Thousand Trails: $62 million allocated in FY 2016 for construction of this widening project.

* State Route 89, State Route 89A to Deep Well Ranch Road: $15 million allocated in FY 2017 for a corridor widening project that will improve capacity, operations and safety.

* State Route 260, Lion Springs Section: $5 million allocated in FY 2019 for design work on this widening project.

* Interstate 15, Bridge No. 1: $2.5 million allocated in FY 2017 for design and $33 million allocated in FY 2019 for bridge replacement.

The public comment period for the 2015-2019 Five-Year Program began on March 7 and ended on May 20. During this time, public hearings were held in Phoenix, Marana and Flagstaff. Comments were also submitted online.

Arizona’s State Transportation Board has two new members…

Appointed by Gov. Jan Brewer and confirmed by the Arizona State Senate, Deanna L. Beaver and William F. Cuthbertson have replaced outgoing members Bobbie Lundstrom and Bill Feldmeier (members of the board serve six-year terms).

The newest members join five others on the board in representing local communities to plan and develop the state’s transportation system.

“An efficient transportation system is critical to Arizona’s ability to foster trade opportunities, create jobs and enhance our global competitiveness,” said Gov. Brewer. “As lifelong Arizonans with decades of service to their respective communities, Ms. Beaver and Mr. Cuthbertson know the transportation challenges facing Arizona. They will each be of tremendous value to the Transportation Board and the traveling public.”

About the State Transportation Board
There’s a lot that this group oversees, including the annual adoption of the five-year construction program (by the way, don’t forget that there's still time to comment on the most recent plan). The board also awards construction contracts and monitors the status of projects.

Additionally, the board serves in an advisory capacity to the Director of ADOT and is granted specific policy powers and duties related to the planning of development of Arizona’s highways, airports and other state transportation facilities.

For more on what the State Transportation Board is all about, you can re-visit this blog post. And, to learn about all the board members, including the two newest ones, visit the State Transportation Board Web page.

ADOT’s tentative Five-Year Construction Program is now online and available for your review and comments.

But before you go and have a look, we want to let you know that this year’s draft is a little different from what you've seen in the past…

Yes, the Five-Year Construction Program still serves as a blueprint for ADOT.

And, just like it has in previous years, the plan details where, when and how regional, state and federal funding will be spent for projects over the next five years to improve our sate’s transportation infrastructure.

However, for this year’s plan (which is still a tentative program right now), ADOT has determined that $350 million must be cut due to stagnant revenue from the gas and vehicle license taxes and from decreased federal funding.

As a result, the 2014-2018 Five-Year Construction Program reflects a major focus on preserving our existing state highway system while moving some programmed projects forward.

Other programmed projects in the five-year plan will need to be delayed to future years due to significantly less funding.

Preserving our system means protecting our investment of $18.4 billion – this is the value of the state highway system through monies spent on expansion, modernization and preservation projects.

What this means…

Over the next five years, there will be less focus on expansion of the system statewide. This is the first Five-Year Program that will reflect this dramatic change for the agency.

This issue will be present in 2013, but will become much more pronounced by 2016, when $250 million will be cut from the program, and in 2017, when an additional $100 million will be cut from the program.

“We are at a crossroads,” said ADOT Director John Halikowski. “The time has come to make some tough decisions about how to spend our limited transportation dollars. We are standing at a wide funding gap between the need for future transportation options and the reality of insufficient funds to pay for them. We need to move forward with a plan that focuses on preserving the good work we’ve done in creating a state highway system that connects communities and economies.”

The State Transportation Board will conduct public hearings to allow for additional community input.

What’s your opinion?
The public comment period for the Tentative Five-Year Program is now under way. As ADOT moves toward a preservation-based system, there are three scenarios that are being considered for implementation. All three scenarios are available for public comment:

• Scenario A – Focus on Preservation: This scenario focuses the most investment on keeping the existing highway system in good repair with the least investment in programmed major projects in greater Arizona. There would be 81 preservation projects from 2014 to 2016, 39 bridge projects, one major project and 690 miles of pavement projects. An average of $184 million per year in preservation from 2014 through 2018 would be allocated. Arizona’s interstate system is projected to fall below current standards for pavement quality in 2031 with this scenario.
• Scenario B – Focus on Programmed Major Projects: This scenario focuses the most investment on major projects that are programmed in greater Arizona with the lowest investment in keeping existing highways in good repair through preservation. There would be nine major projects from 2014 to 2017. From 2014 to 2016, there would be 25 bridge projects and 458 miles of pavement projects. An average of $142 million per year in preservation from 2014 to 2018 would be allocated. Arizona’s interstate system is projected to fall below current standards for pavement quality in 2017 with this scenario.
• Scenario C – Combination of Preservation and Major Projects: This scenario focuses on some investment in major projects that are programmed in greater Arizona with less investment in keeping existing highways in good repair. There would be four major projects from 2014 to 2017, 39 bridge projects from 2014 to 2018 and 524 miles of pavement projects. An average of $149 million per year in preservation from 2014 to 2018 would be allocated. Arizona’s interstate system is projected to fall below current standards for pavement quality in 2021 with this scenario.

How to comment

ADOT welcomes feedback and has provided the following options to submit your comments:

• Email: [email protected]
• Online comment form
• Phone: 855.712.8530
• Print and mail the comment form to: ADOT 5-Year Program, 1655 W. Jackson St., MD 126F, Phoenix, AZ 85007

The State Transportation Board will consider all public comments received by May 17. Public hearings will be conducted on March 8 in Phoenix, April 12 in Tucson and May 10 in Flagstaff to allow for additional community input (see details above). The board is expected to adopt the final 2014-2018 Five-Year Program at the June 14 meeting in Pinetop-Lakeside.

ADOT’s Long-Range Transportation Plan was formally adopted earlier this month.

You might remember that we blogged about the plan and wrote about the successful outreach effort used to help shape the plan.

ADOT planners will now use the Long-Range Transportation Plan as a guide to build a transportation system designed to carry Arizona into the future!

But just who is this group – otherwise known as the State Transportation Board – that adopted the plan?

The State Transportation Board is made up of seven members appointed by the Governor. Six of the members are chosen to represent a specific transportation district and one serves at large. Board members serve a term of six years each.

In addition to serving in an advisory capacity to the ADOT Director, the Transportation Board is granted specific policy powers and duties, including:

• Responsibility for establishing a complete system of state highway routes and determining which state highway routes are accepted into the state highway system and which state highway routes are to be improved.
• Final authority on establishing, opening, relocating, altering, vacating, or abandoning any portion of a state route or state highway, including establishment of parkways and historic and scenic roadways.
• Awarding construction contracts and monitoring the status of construction projects.

And it doesn’t end with roads… the Transportation Board also:

• distributes the money appropriated from the State Aviation Fund for planning, design, development, land acquisition, construction and improvement of publicly owned airport facilities;
• approves airport construction;
• has the exclusive authority to issue revenue bonds for financing needed transportation improvements throughout the state;
• determines priority program planning with respect to transportation facilities;
• annually adopts the five-year construction program;
• and, as we mentioned earlier, adopts the Long-Range Transportation Plan.

The board typically meets once a month and its meetings are open to the public. For more about the board, or to check out the minutes of past meetings, visit the State Transportation Board.