Michelle Ye Hee Lee

The Republic | azcentral.com

The I-11 project proposes to improve and expand the corridor between Phoenix and Las Vegas.

U.S. and Arizona Public Interest Research Group education funds called the project a %22boondoggle.%22

The proposed Interstate 11 corridor that would expand and improve the existing route between Phoenix and Las Vegas is a transportation "boondoggle" that was based on obsolete data and exemplifies wasteful highway spending, a national advocacy group says.

In a report released Tuesday, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund highlighted 11 proposed transportation projects in various states that it found questionable, given what researchers declared was an end to the decades-long "Driving Boom."

Americans are not driving any more than they did nearly a decade ago, yet millions to billions of dollars are proposed for new and expanded highway construction, the report says. Meanwhile, state and federal transportation funds are dwindling, and alternatives to driving are becoming more popular, especially among Millennials — those born between the late 1970s and the mid- to late-1990s.

The report comes on the heels of the Arizona PIRG Education Fund's recent findings that Arizonans are driving less and relying more on alternative transportation methods. The Arizona PIRG Education Fund contributed to the research for Tuesday's report, along with other state-level PIRGs.

"It's important to note that the projects identified in the Highway Boondoggles report aren't necessarily worst of the worst," said Diane Brown, executive director of the Arizona PIRG Education Fund. "They are a sample of projects, some that had been proposed for decades, that have been moving forward more recently to show ... some of the different types of spending that we believe is wasteful of taxpayer dollars."

The I-11 project has been gaining momentum recently, especially among economic-development advocates and transportation planners. The Arizona and Nevada departments of transportation have spent a combined $2.5 million to study the I-11 concept. A two-year study showing significant potential returns on investment for the I-11 project and the Intermountain West Corridor from the Mexican border through northern Nevada was released this month.

There is no funding for a detailed study or construction. But PIRG researchers tabbed the I-11 project at $2.5 billion in capital, operations and maintenance over 20 years, using the figure from a March report prepared for the ADOT Multimodal Planning Division by Parsons Brinckerhoff, a planning and engineering-consulting firm.

Phoenix and Las Vegas are linked by U.S. 93, and traffic counts along the corridor between the two cities have not surpassed state transportation forecasts, the report said.

But ADOT and Nevada Department of Transportation said the project is crucial for future mobility and economic development between two major western metropolitan cities.

The project proposes changes beyond expanding the existing road, extending into investments in other transportation needs in between the cities, including highways, rail, freight and energy infrastructure, ADOT Multimodal Planning Division Director Scott Omer said.

Omer agreed with PIRG researchers that state and federal transportation funding has decreased, and said Arizona has significant transportation needs that are addressed in longterm statewide transportation plans.

"We put in the time and effort and we brought in the right people to look at this, not just as a transportation corridor, but a corridor that can not only move people but also help move economies forward," Omer said.

NDOT spokeswoman Meg Ragonese said the proposed I-11 and the Intermountain West corridors have the potential to become a major multimodal corridor that connects cities, trade hubs, ports, intersecting highways and railroads.

"The report claims that the driving boom is over, but it has to be remembered that many areas of the west continue to see development, as well as population and traffic increases," Ragonese said. "It is vital to not just provide responsible transportation improvements for current needs, but to proactively envision and plan for the transportation needs and possibilities of the future."