On Monday, U.S. Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, and Congresswoman Martha McSally (R-AZ) introduced in the Senate and House, respectively, the Sonoran Corridor Interstate Development Act of 2015, legislation that would designate the Sonoran Corridor as a future interstate to connect Interstate 19 to Interstate 10 south of the Tucson International Airport.
The Sonoran Corridor will create an alternative route that will enable the hundreds of thousands of freight vehicles traveling through the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales each year to avoid having to pass through the congested city of Tucson to reach major trade routes using I-10. This development is estimated to reduce total travel by 12 miles and 20 minutes per truck, connecting southern Arizona to agricultural regions, infrastructure and manufacturing centers, and existing high priority corridors of the National Highway System. The Sonoran Corridor will also be home to the new Aerospace Parkway next to Tucson International Airport.
The Sonoran Corridor would also help to connect the Intermountain West Corridor and future Interstate 11, which McCain claims, will open travel from Mexico to Canada and increase trade and job opportunities for Arizonans. In March, Senators McCain and Flake introduced the Intermountain West Corridor Development Act of 2015, which would extend the I-11 through the State of Nevada to Interstate-80 and south toward Arizona’s southern border.