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Cascabel group: No to bypass
Shar Porier
Wick Communications
Members of the Cascabel Working Group and the Cochise County Board of Supervisors met during a work session Wednesday to discuss the supervisors' positions on the proposed Interstate 10 Bypass to relieve traffic congestion between Tucson and Phoenix.
The Arizona Department of Transportation wants to address future needs of a growing population as well as the increasing truck traffic. Shuttling semis to a different corridor would save time for them and commuters running the road between Tucson and Phoenix.
Though the bypass is only in the feasibility study stage by the Arizona Department of Transportation, some citizens are throwing down the gauntlet when it comes to spreading concrete and asphalt in the San Pedro River Valley, one of the largest flyways for migratory birds in the United States and the last remaining desert river in Arizona.
Bob McClure, a member of the working group, said well-known Arizona attorney S.L. Schorr made the suggestion for the bypass.
ADOT has proposed a number of routes from I-10 in Benson or Willcox following the Upper San Pedro River Valley, bypassing Tucson and heading for Phoenix. A few of the routes would pass by or through the Winchester Mountains and the Galliuro Mountains between Benson and San Manuel, as shown on a map presented by McClure.
"We believe this is not a good idea," McClure said. "While we may agree that traffic is a problem between Tucson and Phoenix, we do not believe any of these routes will ease that congestion. ... It will endanger the environment, the ecology and archeology of the San Pedro."
McClure said there are many assets - flora and fauna - in the valley corridor need protecting and preserving.
"There are fragile Native American sites there over 12,000 years old. We have early historic homesites that are 150 years old," he told the supervisors. "I would be upset to have the area destroyed by urban sprawl."
After McClure's presentation, Supervisor Paul Newman said the county had not been consulted on the possibility of running the bypass through Cochise County and the river valley. He voiced his opposition to the project if it involved the river that the county, Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca have been desperately trying to protect. He also indicated there might be some double dealing going on between Schorr and developers since one of the proposed routes goes through Smith Ranch property.
"This looks strange to me. I find it interesting that the road goes through Smith Ranch," Newman said. "There's more to this than just taking trucks off the road. ... It's a dubious proposal and I worry about the destruction of the environment. ... I've been following it and there is lots of protest. A county action on this would do a lot to legitimize the public opposition."
Chairman Richard Searle said he didn't think the proposal makes sense.
"ADOT is taking public comment and we can say 'yes' or we can say 'no'. A resolution gives weight to public opinion. The resolution could just be on the routes that pass through the San Pedro River Valley," he said.
County Administrator Mike Ortega said a formal show of opposition through a resolution would carry weight.
(Shar Porier is a reporter at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
Wick Communications
Members of the Cascabel Working Group and the Cochise County Board of Supervisors met during a work session Wednesday to discuss the supervisors' positions on the proposed Interstate 10 Bypass to relieve traffic congestion between Tucson and Phoenix.
The Arizona Department of Transportation wants to address future needs of a growing population as well as the increasing truck traffic. Shuttling semis to a different corridor would save time for them and commuters running the road between Tucson and Phoenix.
Though the bypass is only in the feasibility study stage by the Arizona Department of Transportation, some citizens are throwing down the gauntlet when it comes to spreading concrete and asphalt in the San Pedro River Valley, one of the largest flyways for migratory birds in the United States and the last remaining desert river in Arizona.
Bob McClure, a member of the working group, said well-known Arizona attorney S.L. Schorr made the suggestion for the bypass.
ADOT has proposed a number of routes from I-10 in Benson or Willcox following the Upper San Pedro River Valley, bypassing Tucson and heading for Phoenix. A few of the routes would pass by or through the Winchester Mountains and the Galliuro Mountains between Benson and San Manuel, as shown on a map presented by McClure.
"We believe this is not a good idea," McClure said. "While we may agree that traffic is a problem between Tucson and Phoenix, we do not believe any of these routes will ease that congestion. ... It will endanger the environment, the ecology and archeology of the San Pedro."
McClure said there are many assets - flora and fauna - in the valley corridor need protecting and preserving.
"There are fragile Native American sites there over 12,000 years old. We have early historic homesites that are 150 years old," he told the supervisors. "I would be upset to have the area destroyed by urban sprawl."
After McClure's presentation, Supervisor Paul Newman said the county had not been consulted on the possibility of running the bypass through Cochise County and the river valley. He voiced his opposition to the project if it involved the river that the county, Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca have been desperately trying to protect. He also indicated there might be some double dealing going on between Schorr and developers since one of the proposed routes goes through Smith Ranch property.
"This looks strange to me. I find it interesting that the road goes through Smith Ranch," Newman said. "There's more to this than just taking trucks off the road. ... It's a dubious proposal and I worry about the destruction of the environment. ... I've been following it and there is lots of protest. A county action on this would do a lot to legitimize the public opposition."
Chairman Richard Searle said he didn't think the proposal makes sense.
"ADOT is taking public comment and we can say 'yes' or we can say 'no'. A resolution gives weight to public opinion. The resolution could just be on the routes that pass through the San Pedro River Valley," he said.
County Administrator Mike Ortega said a formal show of opposition through a resolution would carry weight.
(Shar Porier is a reporter at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
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