President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend already-approved federal funds for some projects could set back plans to widen Interstate 10 in a congested stretch between Tucson and Phoenix.
If nothing else, it could force Arizona taxpayers to pick up the difference of at least $95 million.
In an executive order signed Monday, the new president directed government agencies to “immediately pause the disbursement of funds’’ approved through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act as well as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Both measures contain billions of federal dollars earmarked for projects in states and cities, including highway expansion.
Trump’s order got the attention of U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, a Democrat who is the only Arizonan on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who sent a letter to the acting secretary of the Department of Transportation, Judith Kaleta.
He specifically asked about federal dollars for the plan to widen, to three lanes in each direction, about 26 miles of I-10 between Queen Creek Road on the edge of Chandler to State Route 287 outside of Casa Grande. The interstate is already three lanes north and south of that segment, creating a bottleneck for traffic.
The widening will cost more than $1 billion. At least $95 million of that was supposed to come in the form of a grant from USDOT under the infrastructure law.
That’s likely not all of the federal dollars going to the project, however. Officials at the state Department of Transportation said Arizona gets other federal highway funds that are being programmed into the overall cost.
Work already has started, with the state counting on the feds for reimbursement.
“This project was a bipartisan priority — business leaders and elected officials at all levels of government, from rural, urban and tribal areas all coming together to push this over the finish line,’’ Stanton wrote. But he said the state needs “clarification’’ of the meaning of Trump’s executive order and whether it allows the Federal Highway Administration to refuse to reimburse the state for the incurred costs.
Lawmakers: Project must be finished
State lawmakers from the areas affected said they’re not convinced the money won’t come through.
“I appreciate Congressman Stanton is looking out for that,’’ said Rep. Teresa Martinez, a Casa Grande Republican.
But she said the money is not officially gone — at least not yet. “So I’m not going to freak out just yet,’’ she said.
Martinez, who has called the widening project crucial, said there is an ultimate fallback: Arizona taxpayers picking up the tab. “This highway is going to get widened one way or the other. It is going to get widened, whether it is state dollars or federal dollars,’’ she said.
The segment set to be widened is 26 miles of I-10 between Queen Creek Road on the edge of Chandler to State Route 287 outside of Casa Grande.
That’s also the assessment of Sen. T.J. Shope, a Coolidge Republican. “I’m not hitting the panic button’’ while awaiting final word, he said. “I’m not convinced that it’s gone-gone,’’ he said.
He pointed out this isn’t a project close to completion that needs all the money right now.
“I think there’s still some time for Washington to figure out what they’re doing, whether it’s permanent or not permanent or it’s just up for review,’’ he said.
But, like Martinez, he’s convinced the project is too important to allow it to languish if the federal share dries up. That means spending state tax dollars.
“There’s definitely the will to have to do that,’’ he said.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who made the announcement last year of the $95 million grant, said she’s still looking for clarification of what the Trump order means. But Hobbs said she has been given to believe Trump is targeting energy projects such as electric vehicle charging stations.
Money, route issues
The state has been widening sections of the interstate for years. But there have been issues with that last stretch, including funding.
The Maricopa Association of Governments kicked in $221 million. That money cannot be used for the portion of the project in Pinal County, however.
There were issues about much of the route running through the Gila River Indian Community.
Shope said there were some bad feelings left over from when the road was originally built through the reservation with little tribal input. But he said Stephen Roe Lewis, current governor of the community, has been more involved.
If Arizona taxpayers have to kick in more dollars, it wouldn’t be the first time. Lawmakers have considered the widening so important that they agreed to allocate state funds to get the project started, with the anticipation of the dollars rolling in in the future.
Three years ago, for example, the Legislature approved $400 million out of the state general fund to jump-start this project.
But any plan to divert state tax dollars could provoke opposition. In that case, for example, then-Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita complained there were better uses for that much money, including tax cuts.
Shope said this isn’t just any project, though.
“The Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce did a survey of residents,’’ he said at the time. “And, of those who were gainfully employed, around 60% of them traveled to Phoenix for work.’’
Still, the $400 million wasn’t enough to complete the work. Even with that infusion, Hobbs said last year that the state had just $692 million, plus the $221 from MAG, for the billion-dollar-plus project.
