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I-10 bypass scrapped in San Pedro Valley area
Thelma Grimes
San Pedro Valley News-Sun
While an alternate route to Interstate 10 is still needed, the Arizona Department of Transportation Board voted last week it will not go through the San Pedro Valley.
With continued opposition from area residents and the newly-formed Cascabel Working Group, the transportation board voted to drop two alternatives that included the San Pedro Valley. After a 45-minute discussion, however, the board decided to move forward with studying alternatives routes for an I-10 Bypass.
Anna Lands, of the Cascabel Work Group, said she and others breathed a sigh of relief when the board dropped the San Pedro Valley. Lands and other Cascabel residents formed the organization to fight the bypass that was proposed to go through the San Pedro Valley, which many said is a fragile riparian environment.
Even without the Cascabel Working Group, Lands said residents were alarmed by the proposal and spoke out.
"A lot of people were concerned on their own without any input from us," she said. "We worked on generating as much interest as we could, but the idea of a bypass coming through our San Pedro Valley got people's attention."
Lands said while getting the San Pedro Valley eliminated as an alternative route for a bypass that is supposed to alleviate increased traffic counts on I-10, the Cascabel Working Group's mission is not complete.
ADOT will continue studying the feasibility of two other routes, which are also generating plenty of opposition. Lands said they will continue to publicly oppose routes that threaten Arizona's natural environments.
Supporters of the bypass say it is needed to solve traffic problems. The bypass proposal was originally introduced last year by Tucson Attorney S.L. Schorr. During a state transportation board meeting in December, Schorr, who represents Pima County, proposed a bypass that would connect to Interstate 10 near Willcox and run north of Tucson, reconnecting to I-10 near Phoenix.
Benson City Manager Martin Roush and other elected officials in Cochise County opposed that specific proposal, stating a bypass should not go around Benson. Roush said Benson is the center point in Cochise County, which connects motorists to State Routes 90 and 80, and the city would also lose business if traffic is routed around it.
Schorr said he proposed this specific bypass because the state must come up with an answer to the increasing truck traffic on I-10. Besides trucks, traffic counts on on the interstate are increasing because of population growth.
In a 6-0 vote on Friday, the ADOT board asked for more study on cost, environmental impacts of a possible bypass through Aravaipa Valley east of Tucson and another through Avra Valley to the west.
The ADOT studies conducted over the last year, that included the San Pedro Valley alternative, cost the state about $340,000.
San Pedro Valley News-Sun
While an alternate route to Interstate 10 is still needed, the Arizona Department of Transportation Board voted last week it will not go through the San Pedro Valley.
With continued opposition from area residents and the newly-formed Cascabel Working Group, the transportation board voted to drop two alternatives that included the San Pedro Valley. After a 45-minute discussion, however, the board decided to move forward with studying alternatives routes for an I-10 Bypass.
Anna Lands, of the Cascabel Work Group, said she and others breathed a sigh of relief when the board dropped the San Pedro Valley. Lands and other Cascabel residents formed the organization to fight the bypass that was proposed to go through the San Pedro Valley, which many said is a fragile riparian environment.
Even without the Cascabel Working Group, Lands said residents were alarmed by the proposal and spoke out.
"A lot of people were concerned on their own without any input from us," she said. "We worked on generating as much interest as we could, but the idea of a bypass coming through our San Pedro Valley got people's attention."
Lands said while getting the San Pedro Valley eliminated as an alternative route for a bypass that is supposed to alleviate increased traffic counts on I-10, the Cascabel Working Group's mission is not complete.
ADOT will continue studying the feasibility of two other routes, which are also generating plenty of opposition. Lands said they will continue to publicly oppose routes that threaten Arizona's natural environments.
Supporters of the bypass say it is needed to solve traffic problems. The bypass proposal was originally introduced last year by Tucson Attorney S.L. Schorr. During a state transportation board meeting in December, Schorr, who represents Pima County, proposed a bypass that would connect to Interstate 10 near Willcox and run north of Tucson, reconnecting to I-10 near Phoenix.
Benson City Manager Martin Roush and other elected officials in Cochise County opposed that specific proposal, stating a bypass should not go around Benson. Roush said Benson is the center point in Cochise County, which connects motorists to State Routes 90 and 80, and the city would also lose business if traffic is routed around it.
Schorr said he proposed this specific bypass because the state must come up with an answer to the increasing truck traffic on I-10. Besides trucks, traffic counts on on the interstate are increasing because of population growth.
In a 6-0 vote on Friday, the ADOT board asked for more study on cost, environmental impacts of a possible bypass through Aravaipa Valley east of Tucson and another through Avra Valley to the west.
The ADOT studies conducted over the last year, that included the San Pedro Valley alternative, cost the state about $340,000.
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