Posted on 10/20/2016 6:59:15 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
CASA GRANDE — Republican Congressional District 1 candidate Paul Babeu says he plans to make improvements to Interstate 10 a greater priority for the federal government.
Babeu, who is Pinal County sheriff, assembled a number of Republican state lawmakers on Monday to discuss his intentions as a congressman to prioritize widening a portion of I-10 that runs between Phoenix and Casa Grande.
His plan is to work on expanding this section from two lanes to three in each direction. Doing so, Babeu said, improves safety and economic development.
“This is directly linked to a prosperous future for western Pinal County and northern Pima County,” Babeu said.
As a Republican in Congress that will likely have a GOP majority after the elections, Babeu said he would be better suited to get this project on the agenda of other lawmakers and make it a priority for the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Federal grants were awarded this year to widen two sections of I-10 located south of Casa Grande. Eight of the state’s congressional representatives, including Democrats and Republicans, signed a letter in April that asked DOT for the funding.
Babeu admitted this project is still very early without any materialized plans, but he said federal and state leaders need to plan ahead and work together to initiate this effort.
Negotiations will need to be conducted with leaders of the Gila River Indian Community, he added, since that section of I-10 runs through the reservation’s land.
The Arizona Department of Transportation has previously stated that an agreement with GRIC would have to be made before a widening plan could be drafted. The Casa Grande Dispatch reached out to the GRIC public affairs office for comment on Monday and did not receive a response.
In 2007, GRIC officials reportedly offered ADOT more use of its land in order to widen I-10, according to the East Valley Tribune. Around this same time, the former secretary of transportation said $4 million in DOT funds would be committed to widening I-10 between GRIC and Interstate 8 in order to reduce congestion.
The progression of these plans appears to have stagnated since the widening of I-10 between Casa Grande and Phoenix is currently not included in ADOT’s five-year plan of construction projects.
Babeu has been running a campaign that promises to cut taxes and reduce the federal deficit. His wish to prioritize I-10 does not indicate a wish to increase government spending, but rather prioritizing spending that benefits job growth and the economy.
This should be considered a greater priority over other projects such as the development of Interstate 11, Babeu added. ADOT is undergoing an environmental study to assess viable corridors for building a new freeway, I-11, between Wickenburg and Nogales.
Babeu said I-11 is important but it is much further down the line in development. The inadequacies of driving along I-10 are happening now, he said, and should take precedence.
Former state Sen. Tom O’Halleran, Babeu’s Democratic opponent for the CD1 seat, also believes the expansion of I-10 is a priority over I-11 in order to ensure the daily free-flow of commerce.
O’Halleran thinks the importance of developing a comprehensive transportation plan cannot be overstated and believes in not only enhancing I-10, but Interstate 17 as well.
He would like to see research done on building a route connecting southern Arizona to Interstate 40 that would be an alternative to I-17. CD1, the state’s largest district, includes the northeast section of Arizona that encapsulates part of I-40.
The desire to expand this portion of I-10 has repeatedly been expressed by local leaders including Casa Grande mayor-elect Craig McFarland, who stood by Babeu on Monday as the sheriff talked about I-10.
McFarland has included the widening of I-10 on the list of objectives he’d like to get done after taking office at the end of this year.
State Rep. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, praised Babeu’s plans to fast-track expansion of a freeway stretch that he considers to be “dangerous” to Arizonans.
Before receiving a $54 million grant to widen the southern portions of I-10 this year, ADOT had reportedly spent up to $170 million on widening the freeway between Casa Grande and Tucson.
The federal grant is expected to expedite these portions of I-10 a few years ahead of schedule, starting construction in 2018 and 2019.
Take note
I hope they do. That stretch on I-10 can be a real bottle-neck at times.
It needs it. Very heavy semi-truck traffic. I take a ride down to Tucson from Mesa now and then and I go the “back way” through A.J., Gold Canyon & Florence. Much more enjoyable.
Yea.. that section can be widen all the way down to the 8
“Over Casa Grande?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get over Casa Grande.”
I grew up roaming the fields and woods where I-10 would eventually be located. I remember when they surveyed the path and put up stakes.
I think I had left home before it was built but can’t remember for sure. I know it has been resurfaced at least once since they built it.
This was just West of DeFuniak Springs, Florida.
I agree the I 10 is very bad just south of us.
We are in the middle of a huge fight over the expansion of tithe 202 (Pecos Road)
They’ve still got the two bottlenecks over the railroad that squeeze the 3 lanes to 2 twice in about 15 miles. Money just never seems to be there for them. Been that way now for years.
Is Paul Babeu gay?
Investing in our Interstate Hwy system is almost a no brainer, Most businesses that build factories and warehouses are building their factories and warehouses very close to the Interstate Hwy ways, Almost impossible to get factories, and warehouses etc to build even 30 miles or so from the Interstates now days.
As I understand it, a number of years ago, it was revealed that he was having an relationship with an Hispanic immigrant man, IIRC.
except maybe the Florence part. All those prisons and Dairy Queens right next to the highway can make for slow going sometimes.
Also I wish AZDOT would be a little more specific on those overhead warning signs. "Accident 33 miles ahead" seen while leaving Tucson apparently means "I-10 is blocked in both directions and we'll be sending all the traffic down the frontage road through a 1-lane intersection with a stop sign and no one directing traffic, so plan on a 4-hour drive to Tempe."
On your way through Florence do you ever see the Blue Mist Hotel on the west side of the main road across from the main prison? I heard it was named after the gas that rises in AZs gas chamber when the cyanide pellets are dropped.
Cyan being derived from the Greek work for “blue”.
I’ve heard that bit of local color a dozen times at least. Rumor also has it the owner picked the name because it sounded “cool”, like air conditioning. For some reason I’m prone to calling that shade “bordello blue”
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