RTA to jump-start future north-south Pinal freeway
by Mark Cowling | Coolidge Examiner
This is the town of Florence’s preferred route for the future north-south freeway, as contained in the town’s General Plan. The state’s decision on the route is still a few years away./Courtesy of the town of Florence via Casa Grande Dispatch
The proposed north-south freeway expected to pass near downtown Florence will get a significant head start courtesy of the new Regional Transportation Authority.
The state’s decision on a freeway alignment is still a few years away, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. But when it is announced, Pinal County will begin buying the right of way with RTA funding. The RTA will also build a four-lane highway as an “interim facility” until ADOT comes up with the funding to complete the six-lane freeway, according to Andy Smith, transportation planning supervisor for Pinal County Public Works.
The future freeway, designed to provide a more direct path between central Pinal County and the East Valley, has been on the drawing board for years although it has no construction budget. Part of the answer may be in the two transportation measures, Propositions 416 and 417, which Pinal voters narrowly approved on Nov. 7.
