More than $2 million in federal funding has been secured for the planning of a project that will build a new throughway in rural southeastern Arizona.
The two-lane Davis Road runs east to west between U.S. Route 191 and Arizona State Route 80 and is sometimes closed owing to flooding, inconveniencing travelers trying to get from one place to another, as well as area homeowners and ranchers.
Now the Department of Transportation has announced that it is awarding funding for the planning and engineering of a roughly 22-mile segment of the road with the idea of expanding it to four lanes.
The funding is coming through a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant. According to Transportation Department documents, the project “seeks to mitigate safety incidences related to vehicles, pedestrians, and local wildlife along the corridor.”
A Davis Road upgrading will ultimately “eliminate unnecessary vehicle hours spent idling waiting for the roadway to clear, thus reducing total vehicle emissions, in addition to bringing the roadway into a state of good repair.”
Local officials have said that what will be a multi-year rebuilding of Davis Road will also allow the throughway to accommodate more truck traffic and heavier weights.
Altogether, Arizona this summer is receiving more than $60 million in RAISE grants for half a dozen transportation infrastructure projects.
Nationally, up to 70% of RAISE grants have been going to projects located in what are defined as an Area of Persistent Poverty or Historically Disadvantaged Community.
By Garry Boulard
