Documents explain corridor options to be studied further, summarize comments
After
months of technical analysis that includes the results of public, agency and
tribal input gathered earlier this year, the Arizona Department of
Transportation, in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, has
published two key documents as part of the environmental study for Interstate
11 from Nogales to Wickenburg.
The
Alternatives Selection Report and 2017 Agency and Public Information Meeting
Summary Report, available at i11study.com/Arizona under the
Documents tab, reflect a year’s worth of study, analysis and meetings with
communities, agencies and stakeholders, and present the corridor alternatives
moving forward.
“Interstate
11 is part of the larger picture when we talk about planning for Arizona’s
transportation future and enhancing our state’s Key Commerce Corridors,” ADOT
Director John Halikowski said. “As we look to invest and prioritize needs to
improve our state highway system, we must consider how to better connect
people, communities and markets. Efforts like this I-11 study begin with
planning, and that includes the technical work and the equally important
conversations we have with the public every day.”
The
Alternatives Selection Report defines
and evaluates a reasonable range of corridor options to advance to the next
phase of the three-year Draft Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement required by
the National Environmental Policy Act. Ultimately, these corridor options will
be assembled into end-to-end alternatives that run throughout the entire
280-mile long corridor from Nogales to Wickenburg.
A
Tier 1 environmental study evaluates proposed 2,000-foot wide corridors that
could contain specific routes. A Tier 2 environmental study will narrow the
corridors even further into 400-foot alignments that identify specific
roadways.
The
corridor options presented in the Alternatives
Selection Report consider transportation performance, environmental
concerns, community and economic development, and public, agency and tribal input.
Moving forward, the corridor options presented in the Alternatives Selection Report will be further evaluated, and the
outcomes of this analysis will be included in the Draft Tier 1 Environmental
Impact Statement that is scheduled for completion in 2018. The draft environmental document will also
include a no-build alternative.
In
May of this year, ADOT and the Federal Highway Administration asked the public and agencies to share their
ideas, comments and concerns about the I-11 environmental study. Six public
meetings, four agency meetings and five tribal meetings were held, along with a
30-day comment period. The 2017 Agency
and Public Information Meeting Summary Report has helped determine ADOT’s suggestions
regarding corridor options as the study enters the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement phase.
More than 2,300 comments were received
and documented, and more than 600 people attended the public meetings. Comment
themes regarding a new I-11 corridor include consideration of existing and
proposed local and regional transportation plans; the need to study
opportunities that foster economic development; and the importance of
protecting environmentally sensitive resources. While some stated that they
prefer freeway alternatives that build upon and improve existing roadway infrastructure,
others said they favor building an entirely new interstate freeway.
Comments
also noted that a new freeway like Interstate 11 could address transportation
concerns, such as relieving regional congestion, improving travel time and
reliability, improving freight travel and reliability, and reducing bottlenecks
on existing freeways. Other comments favored the no-build alternative, in which
Interstate 11 would not be built. All comments are included in the appendices
of the 2017 Agency and Public Information
Meeting Summary Report, and the incorporation of comments into the
decision-making process is summarized in the Alternatives Selection Report.
The
next round of public involvement opportunities is scheduled to take place in
late 2018, when ADOT presents the Draft Tier 1 EIS, which will consider a
reasonable range of build alternatives and the no-build alternative. Public
hearings will be held throughout the study corridor as part of the process. The
Final Tier 1 EIS, which will include a preferred corridor alternative or the
no-build option, and the Record of Decision are expected in 2019.
A future I-11 corridor would likely follow US 93
from the town of Wickenburg north to the Arizona-Nevada line. The corridor that
is the focus of the current environmental study begins in Nogales and runs north
to the Tucson area, then to Casa Grande, then west of the Phoenix metropolitan
area, and ends in Wickenburg.
Throughout
the course of the study, the public, communities and other stakeholders are
encouraged to comment and help shape the proposed I-11 corridor. All comments
are entered into the project record. Comments can be sent to:
Interstate 11 Tier 1 EIS Study Team
c/o ADOT Communications
1655 W. Jackson St., Mail Drop 126F
Phoenix, AZ 85007
For
more information about the I-11 study, visit i11study.com/Arizona.
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