Pinal County’s Transportation Plan Rolling Forward

There are now 3 major transportation-related initiatives now underway that involve the County, local governments, neighboring counties, & ADOT. Pinal County Transportation Planners, following the lead of the Board of Supervisors is planning for the future of moving people from point “A” to point “B.” Entering the 2nd phase of the Small Area Transportation Study (SATS), Pinal County’s transportation planners are looking in depth at the roads they call “regionally significant” along with projects that should be placed in a priority status. The SATS have designated Pinal County into 3 specific areas. The areas are not drawn by each Board of Supervisors district, but by areas that exhibit common traffic & growth patterns. The SATS process began in July 2005 & should be completed by July 2006. Pinal County Transportation Planner Doug Hansen said that 80% of the cost for the study is being picked up by ADOT. The County, along with the most of its incorporated cities & towns, are in various phases of conducting their SATS. Transportation planners say with everyone having SATS in place will mean that the entities should be on the same page when it comes to planning for future road projects. The SATS process collects & analyzes specific population & growth data with the goal of identifying traffic loads on all major roadways. Transportation planners have identified some priorities they feel will impact the residents of northwestern Pinal County. First, they have placed an emphasis on transportation between the cities of Maricopa & Casa Grande. Pinal County is currently in the process of working with the 2 cities to study the Maricopa/Casa Grande Highway & see how to improve it. The goal is to maximize traffic flows while minimizing the possibility that the Highway might turn into a “Grand Avenue”. Limited access to the Highway, grade-separated railroad crossings (i.e. over or underpasses), & possibly frontage roads on the south side of the railroad are all elements being considered. The County is also working with Casa Grande & ADOT on a much needed traffic interchange for Val Vista Road & I-10. By creating this interchange, access to the freeway for both residents & commerce will flow much more evenly throughout Casa Grande. The County is also collaborating with the city to fund repairs to Thornton Road from Peters Road south to I-8 * the governments are pooling their funds in order to complete the project sooner than later. Another significant planning project in the works is a Freeway Corridor Definition Study for Western Pinal & Southern Maricopa counties: the study will focus on the area bounded by Casa Grande/I-10 on the east, I-8 on the south, I-10 on the north, and Gila Bend on the west. Transportation planners feel that the early work they put in now will pay off in a much smoother commute for drivers in the future. Planners from Pinal County are working with Maricopa County, the Cities of Maricopa & Casa Grande, ADOT, & the Central Arizona & Maricopa Associations of Governments on this issue. Both Snider and the County’s transportation planners believe that last February’s Transportation Summit helped pave the way to begin talking about major road projects with incorporated cities & neighboring counties. Resolutions of support (& identification of critical staff participants) are being collected from all Pinal cities & towns & Indian tribes in the County as the County’s 1st Regional Transportation Planning process gets underway.