PHOENIX – With six public meetings scheduled in June opportunity for the public to contribute in other ways, Arizonans can help stop or shape the the proposed Interstate 11 as the Arizona Department of Transportation moves ahead on a three-year environmental study for a corridor stretching from Nogales to Wickenburg.
The I-11 highway is touted as as a multimodal corridor connecting Arizona with regional and international markets, but many fear it will be a job-killing endeavor as good paying jobs head south and cheap imports head north.
while opening up new opportunities for mobility, trade, job growth and economic competitiveness.
ADOT has opened a 45-day comment period allowing Arizonans to provide input on the I-11 study area, a process known as public scoping. It’s an opportunity to ask questions and share comments about topics such as potential locations for the I-11 corridor, environmental considerations, impact on wildlife habitats or cultural resources, and possible opportunities for other transportation modes, such as rail, that may be considered.
As a result, it is imperative that residents who live along the proposed routes speak out and make their objections or suggestions known.
It is very clear that ADOT has a commitment to establish a border-to-border corridor and a trade route with Mexico.
The recommended I-11 corridor would likely follow US 93 from the Hoover Dam bypass bridge south to Wickenburg. The 280-mile corridor that is the focus of the current environmental study begins in Wickenburg and runs west of the Phoenix metropolitan area and then south to the Tucson area and then Nogales.
Arizona Dept. of Transportation (ADOT) Project Manager Jay Van Echo, meeting with activists from Picture Rocks and Avra Valley on May 18, acknowledged that there were really only two serious route possibilities: through the Avra Valley or along the existing I-10. There will also be a rarely-selected “No Build” alternative.
Only one actual proposal is currently on the table: the Avra Valley route proposed by Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry. A far less-expensive double-decking of six miles of Interstate 10 from Ruthrauff to I-19 was raised but then dismissed by ADOT staff seven years ago when the same route was proposed as an I-10 Bypass. The proposed “Sonoran Corridor” west of I-19 is also part of the Huckelberry plan and was originally labeled “I-11” on County maps. The Sonoran Corridor was turned down by voters last November as part of a bond package even though it was tied to popular road repairs.
Double-decking six miles of I-10, according to then-ADOT State Engineer Jennifer Toth in 2008, would do everything planners want for the next 30 years at one-third the cost. That would save taxpayers nearly $2 billion. ADOT rejected that option due to “cost.”
The informal meeting with Robin Clark and Albert Lannon from the Avra Valley Coalition and Paul Flemm from Citizens for Picture Rocks was at the offices of the Gordley Group, a public relations and marketing firm contracted by the Arizona Dept. of Transportation. In addition to civil engineer Van Echo, also attending were company president Jan Gordley and Public Involvement Director Alice Templeton. Templeton said they were “advocates for process without concern over the outcome” and wanted to gather as much public input as possible.
While proclaiming “neutrality,” Public Involvement Director Templeton sits on the Metro-Pima Alliance Board of Directors with real estate developer, and potential Sonoran Corridor beneficiary, Don Diamond. Diamond’s unbuilt Swan Southlands development would receive a free highway along its western flank if the defeated I-11 leg were built. Members of the Pima County Board of Supervisors have stated that they are looking for ways to revive the highway.
The three community activists warned that there was a lot of bad history to be overcome, starting with the State Transportation Board’s 2008 Tucson meeting where a bypass through the Avra Valley was approved without hearing from a single one of the more than 60 people who had requested to be heard. That provoked a commotion that resulted in police being called, a recess, and an agreement to let representatives of Saguaro National Park, US Bureau of Reclamation, Arizona Game and Fish, and an Avra Valley activist to be heard – but all after the vote had been taken. A lack of the $3 million needed prevented the “major investment study” from going forward.
During the I-11 planning process, public meetings were held as far away from concerned citizens as possible, and in the later stages questions or comments had to be written down and then selected by the chair. Supporters of I-11 were given the floor to speak while opponents were not recognized and had to literally grab the microphone.
County Administrator Huckelberry disparaged double-decking I-10, citing earthquakes in San Francisco, while himself planning for an elevated portion of I-11 to clear an insufficient right-of-way between the Tohono O’odham Nation and the federal Tucson Mitigation Corridor built for wildlife transit when the CAP canal was constructed. That would begin at Mile Wide and Sandario Roads.
In addition to citing the negative effects of a major highway through the Avra Valley on communities, wildlife, archaeological sites, Saguaro and Tucson Mountain Parks, the Desert Museum, Kitt Peak, etc. the I-11 opponents pointed out that, besides the Sonoran Corridor gift to Don Diamond, Huckelberry’s highway would enrich another real estate speculator, Mesa’s Wilford Cardon, whose companies own over 1500 vacant acres along the County Administrator’s route.
Cardon and Diamond, who served on Cardon’s campaign committee for Secretary of State, are multi-millionaire allies willing to spend lots of money to get their way with politicians. According to the New York Times, Diamond has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for federal candidates and is very close to Arizona Senator John McCain. McCain, along with his 2016 election rival Ann Kirkpatrick, sponsored amendments to the recent FAST Act that will allow I-11 and the Sonoran Corridor to eventually receive federal transportation funds.
Avra Valley impacts aside, critics cite the I-11 planners’ Corridor Justification Report to show that I-11 is intended to facilitate research and development in Nevada and Arizona, with manufacture and production in Mexico. Wages, according to the study, will soon be lower in Mexico than in China, attracting American companies to “nearshore” across the border. The planners call it “integrative manufacturing.”
The report, available at i11study.com, also projects Mexico attracting Asian shipping away from West Coast ports to the Mexican Port of Guaymas, currently being expanded at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. Project Manager Van Echo, who says he is “neutral to a fault,” suggested to the group that creating jobs in Mexico might be a good thing.
I-11 appears to be in violation of Pima County Board of Supervisors policy. In Board of Supervisor’s Resolution 2007-343, Pima County policy stated: “Now, Therefore Be It Resolved that the Pima County Board of Supervisors opposes the construction of any new highways in or around the County that have the stated purpose of bypassing the existing Interstate 10 as it is believed that the environmental, historic, archaeological and urban form impacts could not be adequately mitigated.” Board members have not commented on the apparent contradiction.
Publishing a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register, as required under the National Environmental Policy Act, kicks off the formal environmental study process, as ADOT works to prepare a Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement to select an I-11 corridor alternative between Nogales and Wickenburg.
Six public meetings are scheduled in the study area:
Wednesday, June 8
Dorothy Powell Senior Adult Center – Dining Room
405 E. Sixth St.
Casa Grande
Wednesday, June 15
Buckeye Community Center – Multipurpose Room
201 E. Centre Ave.
Buckeye
Tuesday, June 21
Nogales High School – Cafeteria
1905 N. Apache Blvd.
Nogales
Wednesday, June 22
Arizona Riverpark Inn
777 W. Cushing St.
Tucson
Thursday, June 23
Marana Middle School – Gymnasium
11285 W. Grier Rd.
Marana
Wednesday, June 29
Wickenburg Community Center
160 N. Valentine St.
Wickenburg
All meetings run from 4 to 6:30 p.m., with presentations beginning at approximately 4:15 p.m. The same information will be presented at each meeting.
Those interested in commenting on the study but are unable to attend a public meeting are encouraged to visit the study website at i11study.com/Arizona and complete an online survey. All feedback, questions and comments will be considered part of the study, are entered into the project record and will help shape the proposed I-11 corridor.
In March, ADOT, in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, launched the three-year study. Until now, a process called pre-scoping has included meetings with federal, state and local governments, resource agencies and planning organizations within the study corridor.
The first step in the study is developing an Alternatives Selection Report to assess a wide range of corridor alternatives and options, along with opportunities and constraints. A Draft Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement will evaluate in greater detail a smaller number of corridor alternatives, including segments that may advance as independent improvements or projects. There will be a no-build alterative as well.
Input from the public, communities and other stakeholders will contribute to these two reports, as well as a Final Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement that will list a selected corridor alternative.
In November 2014, the Arizona and Nevada departments of transportation completed a two-year feasibility study as the first step in the Interstate 11 process. In December 2015, Congress formally designated Interstate 11 from north to south in Arizona through the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. While the designation doesn’t include funding, it does make the corridor eligible for federal funding in the future.
During the next three years, the public, communities and other stakeholders will have opportunities to comment through regular meetings, community events and other forums. Right now, comments can be sent to:
- Online survey: i11study.com/Arizona/
- Email: I-11ADOTStudy@hdrinc.com
- Toll-free bilingual telephone hotline: 1-844-544-8049
- Mail:
Interstate 11 Tier 1 EIS Study Team
c/o ADOT Communications
1655 W. Jackson St., Mail Drop 126F
Phoenix, AZ 85007