More I-11 groundwork laid to link north and south
Nevada and Arizona lawmakers laid more groundwork last week for a new highway to link their states to points north and south.
The two states in 2012 added a provision to a major transportation bill that would allow federal funding to upgrade U.S. Highway 93 between Las Vegas and Phoenix to expressway standards and thus become a new Interstate 11.
The latest effort is a bill, the Intermountain West Corridor Development Act of 2015, that would extend that designation north from Las Vegas to Interstate 80 outside Reno, and south from Phoenix to the Mexico border.
Expect to see the bill added as an amendment when Congress writes an updated federal highway bill in the next few months, officials said. The Interstate 11 bill does not authorize specific funding, but the designation is a necessary first step to clear the way for funding to follow.
Sens. Harry Reid , D-Nev., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., sponsored the bill in the Senate along with Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, both R-Ariz. House sponsors were Rep. Cresent Hardy, R-Nev., and Dina Titus, D-Nev., and Reps. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., and Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz.
Along the same lines, Heller late Thursday inserted an amendment into the Senate’s new budget blueprint for 2016 that would give funding priority to road projects in “high priority corridors,” such as the future I-11.
“In today’s day and age, it is important we prioritize roads and bridges that give us the biggest bang for our buck,” Heller said. “The construction of I-11, connecting Phoenix and Las Vegas and ultimately extending north to I-80, will do just that.”
Las Vegas and Phoenix are the two largest cities not yet linked by an interstate. Business interests in both Nevada and Arizona are pushing hard for the highway, seeing it as a major boost to commerce in the region.
Contact Review-Journal Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC
Additional maps:
Alternate routes through Nevada considered for Interstate 11
Routes through the Las Vegas Valley
Routes considered through Phoenix and western Arizona
Ports and sources of freight served by Interstate 11 project
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