Posted on 01/03/2019 11:16:56 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The Arizona Department of Transportation continues to make plans for the fabled Interstate 11, announcing a $155 million investment into the stretch of highway from Phoenix to Las Vegas.
The plans, for what is now known as U.S. 93, have been in the making for years, with several more to go.
Meanwhile, the nerve-rattling, headache-inducing, traffic-clogged two-lane stretches from Tucson to Phoenix that are much of Interstate 10 aren’t getting much thought.
The issue is that touted improvements to U.S. 93 are part of a larger plan to build a dedicated trade corridor between Mexico and Canada, running right through Arizona.
As part of the I-11 investment announcement, ADOT touted its commitment to reducing the number of miles where traffic is not on a four-lane divided highway between Phoenix and the Arizona-Nevada border down to 39 miles.
The five-year plan for U.S. 93 would widen an additional 11 miles to a four-lane divided highway and buy the land necessary to build a new U.S. 93 interchange with I-40 in Kingman.
But there was little mention of the southern leg of the I-11 route, which would connect Wickenberg and Nogales.
The exact route isn’t defined and is part of an in-depth, prolonged study by ADOT, with a decision not expected until late 2019 or early 2020.
The cheapest alternative to building a new highway is what ADOT refers to as an “a no-build option” that would continue to route semi-trucks through existing roads, including I-10.
(Excerpt) Read more at tucson.com ...
PING.
Highway 93 goes south and actually ends at Wickenburg (40 miles NW of Phoenix). At that point, it connects to State Highway 60, goes into Phoenix, and can connect to either I-10 or I-17, or even go further south and connect onto I-8. But there’s no need to talk about building more for Tucson. That interstate already exists, and I-19 goes all the way down to the border.
This whole discussion about a Vegas to Phoenix four-lane highway or interstate, has been going on since the 1970s. 95-percent of Highway 93 could easily be widen to four lanes for the vast amount of the drive. There’s just been virtually no interest by the state leaders, or the two dimwit senators they’ve had (to get fed money) to wrap up this project. It’s a four-hundred mile journey from Tucson up, and if it was widen, and you could drive 80 mph...you could do the whole thing in just over 4.5 hours.
Jeeze I already drive 80 mph Phoenix to Tucson
When I lived in Tucson, and would occasionally drive to Phoenix...I’d be doing 80 and tons of cars would be passing me at 90 to 100 mph.
With Federal money comes Federal regulations.
Screw Tucson. They sided with the Confederacy and slavery in the Civil War and gave us Enema.
I made that drive once from Laughlin NV to PHX as a winter holiday with a little gambling and tourism in NV then to PHX for a football bowl game with my alma mater. The Hwy 93 section was enjoyable for its lack of traffic and stark landscapes. I don’t really see how taking it to Interstate construction standards really does anything to improve that drive.
You can fly from Phoenix to Vegas for $60, why drive?
Complying with TSA security theater is against my religion. Plus, I had driven out from OKC to Laughlin for the bowl trip. Remember it fondly - Laughlin was the site of my best gambling win ever - $1200 on a penny slot.
One of the many reasons I love living in AZ.
One of the negatives is the snowbirds from the midwest who are not ready for this speeds.
A couple weeks ago I got behind someone merging onto the freeway at 40mph and traffic was flowing at 80mph
She nearly got herself killed.
Winning $1200 on a penny slot...
You must’ve sat there for ages listening to that machine dump it all out. Did you get a crowd all gathered aground just to watch it go?
I won $20 on a nickel slot one time, and the length of time it took, with the machine chugging away and every nickel bouncing off of the bell...
...made a bunch of people at the nearby dollar slots more than a little bit envious.
No pennies dropping from the machine - an attendant came over, opened the machine to verify the payout, and started peeling off bills from a stack. The most fun was going back up to the hotel room and tossing the money on the bed where my wife was sitting up to work on some quilting handwork she was doing. A very fun trip!
My state, Maryland, is full of people who don’t use the acceleration lane to actually accelerate to highway speed.
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