The two transportation departments have been working together for more than a year on the Interstate 11 and Inter-mountain West Corridor Study, which includes detailed corridor planning of a possible high-priority interstate link between the Phoenix and Las Vegas metropolitan areas, along with plans for potentially extending the corridor north to Canada and south to Mexico.
Since July, the study team has completed the Corridor Justification Report and has explored the universe of alternatives for potential routes from Mexico to northern Nevada. That broad range of possible corridor alternatives recently underwent an evaluation and screening process by the study team based on criteria endorsed by stakeholders to narrow down the number of alternatives recommended for further analysis.
Study highlights:
• Current developments in the structure of the North American economy and the role of Mexico in North American manufacturing and trade have the potential to add substantial economic growth and transportation demand to north-south transportation corridors in the region, further exacerbating the congestion described above.
• Economic development initiatives underway by Arizona and Nevada, which are focused on selected cluster targets in aerospace, life sciences, and other high-value manufactured goods, rely on high-quality transportation corridors for mobility of raw materials, finished products, and workers. The success of state economic development initiatives will depend on continuing transportation investments to maintain competitiveness.
• Over the planning horizon of the study, ongoing and established growth trends will result in a significant increase in the portion of the states’ highways reaching unacceptable levels of congestion, posing a significant threat to economic competitiveness.
Currently the project’s biggest opponent is the Sierra Club, which objects to an interstate highway through some of the most desolate areas in the country.
Each of the five public meetings will focus on a specific segment of the proposed I-11 and Intermountain West Corridor. The meetings will begin at 5:30 p.m. local time with an open house, followed by a presentation at 6 p.m. The meetings are as follows:
Phoenix Metropolitan Area: Oct. 8 at the Avondale City Council Chambers: 11465 W. Civic Center Drive in Avondale, AZ
Northern Arizona: Oct. 9 at the Mohave County Public Works Building, Turquoise Room: 3715 Sunshine Drive in Kingman, AZ
Southern Arizona: Oct. 10 at the Pascua Yaqui Reservation’s Albert J. Garcia Auditorium: 7777 S. Camino Huivism in Tucson, AZ
Northern Nevada: Oct. 16 at the Carson City Community Center, Bonanza Room: 851 E. William St. in Carson City, NV
Las Vegas Metropolitan Area: Oct. 17 at the NDOT District I Main Training Room: 123 E. Washington St. in Las Vegas, NV