The Arizona Transportation Board approved a list of projects to be funded with money from the federal stimulus package, but changes are expected after the state’s 13 rural counties have had a chance to pore over the recommendations and make some of their own.
At a special meeting on March 3, the board unanimously approved $350 million in road projects that will be funded with money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Under a 10-year-old formula known as the Casa Grande Resolves, 37 percent of the money will be spent in Maricopa County and 13 percent in Pima County, while the 13 other counties split the remaining half of the money.
But the 13 rural counties say they had little time to examine the list, and want a chance to make recommendations on possible changes to the 27 projects that the board wants to fund with stimulus money.
The board approved the lists for all three groups, with the caveat that they will revisit the proposals at its March 13 meeting. Board Chairman Delbert Householder said he expects changes to be made based on recommendations from the 13 rural counties, and said the Maricopa Association of Governments and the Pima Association of Governments will have the same opportunity.
“It’s not set in stone. We can move things around,” Householder said during the special meeting.
Under the terms of $787-billion stimulus package that President Obama signed last month, the Arizona Department of Transportation will get $350 million for federal highway construction projects. Under the Casa Grande formula, Maricopa County will get about $130 million, Pima County will get about $45 million, and the other $175 million will go toward 27 projects in the other 13 counties. ADOT estimates that the subsequent construction projects could employ as many as 35,000 people in Arizona.
Because the federal recovery act requires that all transportation projects funded with stimulus money be ready to begin within 120 days, ADOT and the board are eager to get started. But due to the possibility that the list of priorities will change, the board will not be able to advertise for bids on the projects until after the March 13 meeting.
In addition to settling concerns over the distribution of the money to the 13 rural counties, the board must also determine whether several counties qualify for federal money under the federal stipulation that states prioritize projects in economically depressed areas, a designation met by every county in the state except for Maricopa, Pima and Coconino.
State engineer Floyd Roehrich said ADOT and the board are waiting for guidance on the issue from the Federal Highway Works Administration.
“We’re not sure what the language is in the (law). That’s the issue, and exactly how that language is going to be applied,” he said.
ADOT Director John Halikowski expressed concern that Arizona’s ARRA-funded transportation proposals could be sent back by the federal government if those three counties, which represent a substantial portion of the federal transportation money, don’t meet the criteria for economically depressed areas.
MAG transportation director Eric Anderson questioned whether foreclosures, an area in which Maricopa County is one of the worst-hit regions of the country, have been or could be factored into the formula for determining that an area is economically depressed.
Representatives of the 13 rural counties spoke at the meeting, saying they did not have enough time to review the list and make additional recommendations. As such, many had complaints over which projects were earmarked for their own communities.
Yuma Mayor Larry Nelson said he was disappointed that Yuma County is only getting $11.5 million for a highway widening project that is expected to cost nearly $20 million. The highway, U.S. Highway 95/16th Street, is the road that is necessary to move agricultural products, the backbone of Yuma’s economy, out of town, Nelson said, as well as to bring in ammunition to the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station.
“Needless to say, I am extremely disappointed by what I see,” Nelson said.
Much of the meeting was characterized by the airing of grievances by representatives of various cities and counties. Rural communities worried that the more populous Maricopa and Pima counties would get the lion’s share of the funding, while MAG and PAG worried that they were being shortchanged despite being home to the overwhelming majority of Arizona’s population.
“There’s always been the Maricopa County, Pima County versus the rest of the state mindset,” said Lake Havasu City public works director Mark Clark.
The projects prioritized by the board for Maricopa County include widening Interstate 10 in the West Valley from Verrado Way to Sarival Road; Interstate 17 from State Road 74 to Anthem Way; and U.S. 60 from 83rd Avenue to Loop 303. Eight Pima County projects are expected to get federal funding, including widening and pavement preservation projects on I-10 and U.S. 86, as well as sign replacement on Interstate 19.
Pinal County will get the largest share of the money designated for the 13 rural counties, with $30 million earmarked to widen I-10 at Picacho Peak. Gila County will get about $24 million for several pavement preservation projects, and Coconino County will get $20 million for pavement preservation and roadway reconstruction.
All three lists also include a number of unfunded projects that could be moved up the list if more money becomes available, or if other projects are removed.
To see ADOT’s complete plan for the federal stimulus money, go to: http://dot.state.az.us/board/agendas/PDf_2009/030309_STB_Recovery_Presentation.pdf