Federal, state and local elected leaders celebrated the groundbreaking of a roadway that regional officials hope will spark a wave of industrial development on the south side.
Sen. John McCain, Rep. Martha McSally, Gov. Doug Ducey, Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild and Pima County Supervisors Sharon Bronson, Ramon Valadez and Ray Carroll attended the event Tuesday to announce the start of work on Pima County’s Aerospace Parkway.
“It’s an incredible day for economic development in Southern Arizona,” Ducey said.
The Aerospace Parkway is a realignment project. The county intends to relocate Hughes Access Road about half a mile south. The road currently runs from Old Nogales Highway east to Alvernon Way, directly south of Tucson International Airport and Raytheon.
The county purchased nearly 400 acres of privately owned land for about $6 million to make room for the realignment, which was designed to facilitate a possible expansion of Raytheon and attract new defense and aerospace businesses.
“The relocation of the road provides us a bigger buffer zone,” Raytheon Vice President Taylor Lawrence said.
Lawrence said the roadway would allow the company, the largest private employer in the region, to look at possible expansion.
The 4½-mile road project, which the county has already committed $6.6 million toward, is seen as the possible first phase in the creation of a so-called Sonoran Corridor.
The Sonoran Corridor would connect Interstate 10 near Rita Road with Interstate 19 north of Pima Mine Road.
The envisioned corridor would run for 22 miles through the largely undeveloped areas south of the airport, creating a bypass for eastbound and southbound interstate travelers and facilitating industrial development of the region.
The area sits near a confluence of ground, rail and air transport that regional leaders want to leverage for economic development.
County officials included $30 million in bond funding for the Sonoran Corridor plan on the recently completed bond proposal.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors has not yet decided whether to hold a bond election, however, which would require voter approval.
The total estimated costs for a completed 22-mile Sonoran Corridor has been estimated at more than $600 million.
County officials would seek federal and state highway dollars to fund the project.
McSally said the project was an example of good vision and leadership by regional leaders.
