Public asked to weigh in on Sonoran Corridor study to link I-10, I-19

The public is being asked to weigh in on a possible highway connection between Interstate 10 and Interstate 19 known as the Sonoran Corridor.

The Federal Highway Administration and the Arizona Department of Transportation recently started a three-year environmental impact study of “potential routes,” and two public meetings will be held in June. The first public comment period lasts until July 15.

“No decisions have been made on specific corridors or alignments,” ADOT’s Carlos Lopez, the project’s manager, told attendees at at Tuesday Pima Association of Governments meeting.

The first step in the process is known as “public scoping,” which ADOT describes as “an opportunity to ask questions and share comments or concerns about topics such as potential locations for the corridor, environmental considerations, impacts on wildlife habitat or cultural resources, and possible opportunities for other transportation modes that may be considered,” according to a recent release.

At the end of the EIS process and a number of additional public meetings and comment periods, a “preferred alternative” will be selected.

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The proposed interstate connection was designated a “high-priority corridor” in the 2015 federal FAST Act, which did not designate any funding for the project or a identify a timetable for its construction. The 2015 Pima County bond package, every part of which was rejected by voters, contained $30 million for Sonoran Corridor planning and design work, as well as some construction.

“This surface transportation connection will facilitate the emergence of a major logistics center for the southwest,” according to county information.

The first public meeting will be Wednesday, June 7, at the Radisson Hotel Tucson Airport, at 4550 S. Palo Verde Road, Tucson.

The second will be on Thursday, June 8, at the Santa Cruz Valley United Methodist Church, at 70 E. Sahuarita Road in Sahuarita. Both meetings start at 5 p.m., with a presentation starting around 6 p.m.

Written comments can be sent to sonorancorridor@azdot.gov and more information can be found at azdot.gov/SonoranCorridor.