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North-South Corridor linking U.S. 60 with Interstate 10 is biggest project in PRTA proposal
An effort to sell Pinal County residents on a 20-year plan to improve transportation throughout the county primarily by building new roads and improving existing roads – and to fund these projects through a 0.5% increase in the county sales tax – moved into high gear recently.
Between March 21 and April 5, the Pinal Regional Transportation Authority (PRTA) held five public meetings where citizens saw the plan unveiled and could learn how these road projects would benefit them. Meetings were staged in the towns of Apache Junction, Coolidge and Maricopa; the communities of San Tan Valley and SaddleBrooke.
Nearly all of the proposed transportation projects are in western Pinal County, where about 88% of the county’s population resides, according to Andy Smith, director of PRTA and transportation planning manager with Central Arizona Governments (CAG). The plan was created with a big assist from Phoenix-based Dibble Engineering.
The major new road proposed is the North-South Corridor that will run 51 miles, connecting U.S. 60 in Apache Junction with Interstate 10 southeast of Eloy. Although the exact route of the North-South Corridor has not yet been determined, it will likely run just east of San Tan Valley, through Florence, and to the east of Coolidge and Eloy. A 5-mile road extending State Route 24 from Maricopa County to the North-South Corridor north of San Tan Valley also is planned.
Additional road improvements include the widening of State Route 347 from the Maricopa County border to the town of Maricopa, Selma Highway running through Eloy and Casa Grande, and assorted streets in Coolidge and Casa Grande. Another new road will divert traffic south of Maricopa to Interstate 8.
San Tan Valley will see Gantzel Road extended south of Bella Vista Road to Hunt Highway.
In southeastern Pinal County, Golder Dam Road near SaddleBrooke and Oracle will be widened.
The PRTA transportation plan also calls for creation of Park and Ride lots throughout the county. According to Smith, these lots will serve as hubs where individuals can park their autos for the day while joining carpools with people working at the same places to commute to their final destination. Smith hopes that existing (or new) transit systems will eventually link to these hubs to take people to their jobs by bus or light rail. At least one is targeted for San Tan Valley near intersection of Combs and Gary Roads.
Although hinted last Fall, the PRTA plan includes no proposals for creating public transportation systems in Pinal County at this time. However a dial-a-ride program, where residents who do not drive can call for rides to a local hospital or other locations, is proposed.
Although no big transportation projects are proposed in eastern Pinal County, PRTA promises to provide a minimum $300,000 annually each to the towns of Superior, Kearny and Mammoth to fund local road projects from revenues collected by the proposed county sales tax hike.
Speaking at the meetings, Smith said the transportation improvements included in the PRTA plan are necessary to keep up with the rapid growth in county population. Between 2000 and 2015, the number of people living in Pinal County grew from 180,000 to more than 400,000. Vehicle traffic has increased dramatically, resulting in severe rush hour congestion on many roads leading into Maricopa and Pima counties, and an increase in traffic accidents and fatalities.
The current system of roads is inadequate, Smith noted. There is a desperate need for a high-capacity route to get from northern to southern Pinal County. There are inadequate connections to Interstate 10 from local routes and businesses. Many east-west routes in the county are two-lane or dirt roads. And San Tan Valley, which has more than 88,000 residents, as only two major roads for travel (Ironwood/Gantzel Road and Hunt Highway).
Road improvements haven’t kept up with population growth since the economic recession hit in 2008. Federal highway fund has been flat since then, causing the county’s Highway Trust Fund to fall short. And to balance the Arizona state budget, the legislature shifted highway funding to other government programs.
Yet Pinal County needs to improve its transportation system to spur economic development and create new jobs. When selecting a site for starting or relocating a business, the executives look at the transportation infrastructure, especially as it relates to quickly getting their products to market. Enticing businesses to locate in Pinal County will not only create new jobs by also enable county residents to work closer to home and not have long commutes to jobs in adjoining counties, Smith noted.
The North-South Corridor could attract the businesses and retail areas on the east side of San Tan Valley that also could create the tax base the community needs to eventually incorporate as a town, one local resident said at the San Tan Valley meeting in the former Mountain Vista Middle School.
For regular citizens, new and wider roads will increase the flow of traffic, resulting in shorter commutes and less wasting of gasoline when stalled in slow traffic.
To boost transportation infrastructure improvements, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors last August voted to create PRTA with a representative from each town in the county on its management board. The first order of business was to draft the transportation plan that was recently finalized.
In November, PRTA is asking voters to approve its transportation plans and to provide funding for the proposed projects by approving a 0.5% increase in the county property tax for the next 20 years. According to Smith, this will cost a typical Pinal County family about $88 per year. But PRTA expects the sales tax hike to be a harder sell in Superior and Mammoth, where the local sales tax is already 10.7%.
By 2036, the tax hike is expected bring in a minimum $500 million to fund proposed projects.
Pinal County would not be alone in taxing residents for transportation improvements. Voters in Maricopa, Pima, Gila and Coconino counties have already approved such taxes, he explained.
PRTA and CAG have filed to have the referendum on the transportation plan and the 0.5% sales tax increase put on the November 8 ballot.
Click below to view a map of the proposed plan.
James J. Hodl is a career journalist who has worked for newspapers, magazines and trade journals. A graduate of Southern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism, Hodl began his career as a reporter with the Palatine (IL) Herald and the Morton Grove (IL) Review before becoming editor of the trade publication Appliance Service News. In recent years, Hodl has had articles published in Consumers Digest, Good Housekeeping, Home Remodeling, Kitchens & Baths and Salute; and has contributed to trade publications serving the home furnishings, restaurant and casino markets. A native of Chicago, Hodl relocated to San Tan Valley in 2013.
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