Gallego, Stanton announce $1B coming to Arizona for highway, bridge repairs
Arizona Democratic House members Ruben Gallego and Greg Stanton said Monday the state is receiving more than $1 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help repair highways and bridges and to build accommodations for electric vehicles.
“Investing in Arizona’s highways and infrastructure is good for growing our economy, increasing tourism, and connecting families across the state,” Gallego said in a prepared statement. “I am proud of our efforts to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—without it, these funds would not be possible. This is how we are showing up and delivering for our state, and I look forward to continuing to find meaningful solutions that improve the lives of everyday Arizonans.”
Stanton added that the funding was long overdue.
“My focus remains on getting these historic funds directly into the hands of Arizona communities so we can improve safety, reduce pollution and cut down on gridlock for both commuters and commercial vehicles,” Stanton said in a prepared statement.
President Joe Biden signed the law in November 2021. It included several key components of his agenda and made historic investments in the nation’s roads, bridges, airports, water systems and ports-of-entry, and will expand access to broadband internet in urban centers and rural areas.
It was championed mainly by Democrats in both the House and Senate but passed with the help of 19 Republican senators and 13 GOP congressmen. Six Democrats from the far left voted against the bill.
The funds announced Monday are only a portion of what Arizona expects to receive through the legislation.
More than $1 billion alone in Monday's announced funding comes from the Federal-Aid Highway Apportionments, according to Gallego and Stanton.
Those funds are the majority of highway funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which includes both highway programs and the new climate mitigation and resilience programs.
Arizona has a complex, five-year plan that prioritizes funding road projects, and is updated annually depending on available funding. The budget for its priority projects can be larger because of the funding through the infrastructure bill.
Another $45 million in funding announced Monday comes from the Bridge Formula, which like the highway fund is larger thanks to the infrastructure bill.
And the final $16 million comes from the electric-vehicle charging portion of the law dedicated to building a network of chargers.
Last year, Arizona was among the first states to get its electric vehicle plan approved by federal officials. The proposal Arizona submitted was to ensure there are vehicle chargers at least every 50 miles on interstate highways.
The money announced Monday is the latest installment of that $75 million expected over five years.
By: Ryan Randazzo
Source: Arizona Republic