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What? Bypass Tucson?

Written by Bud Foster KOLD News 13

If you think there are a lot of trucks on I-10 now, fast forward 10 or 20 years. It's the proverbial "you ain't seen nothin' yet."

Big-rig traffic on the interstate is projected to increase 40% to 50% in the next two decades. That means the little guys will be competing for a limited amount of space with the big guys, the 18-wheelers.

Enter an idea.

Why not build an entirely new highway which bypasses Tucson and Phoenix and is built specifically for the big trucks?

I can hear most drivers say, "can it be done over the weekend."

Well, no. And it may not be done for 20 or 30 years, if ever.

It's an idea state transportation people are exploring right now.

"We in Southern Arizona know we did not do sufficient planning for transportation over the last 50 years that I've lived here. And I'm hoping this is a small measure of planning for transportation," says Si Schorr, a Tucson attorney who sits on the state transportation board.

If it's built, it would run for about 100 miles. It might cost $9,000,000,000 (billion) to build. It might go west of Tucson through Avra Valley. Or it might go North and East through the San Pedro Valley. Either route has environmentalists concerned.

"Apart from spreading pollution into the wilds and killing animals directly and causing erosion, the highway itself will fragment habitat and create development in a way that does not make sense. It creates sprawl," says Randy Serraglio, from the Center for Biological Diversity.

Others oppose it for a variety of reasons.

"I can take you to ranches out there (San Pedro near Willcox) where the cowboys and the people who own the ranches still tuck their blue jeans into their boots. That's what we're talking about destroying. We're talking about destroying a lifestyle," says Jim Martin who lives near Willcox.

Shorr believes their opposition will be dealt with in proper time.

"Before anything could ever occur, we'd have to do detailed environmental impact statements," he says.

Shorr was sitting, listening to the protests in the Oro Valley Town Council chambers. He, along with all the other members, brought their regular transportation meeting to Southern Arizona to hear testimony.

They got a lot of it before cutting off public testimony because it was running too long. Even with a two minute time limit, it would have taken a long time to hear everyone in the packed house.

Following a minor protest, the meeting carried on to other business.

Schorr says they protestors will have other chances.

"This is a very long term measure. I don't envision this happening anytime in my lifetime," he says.