Infrastructure bill brings billions to Arizona, Tucson
Must still pass the House
TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Just a day after the US Senate passed the $1 Trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, Sen. Mark Kelly was home in Tucson touting its success and the value to the region.
Who hasn’t, he said, sat in traffic on Interstate 10 for up to several hours because of an accident?
“There are no access roads on I-10,” he said. “We need to fix that.”
According to Sen. Kelly, the infrastructure bill will cut a $5.3 billion check to the Arizona Department of Transportation to, in part, fix the problem.
The financial breakdown also shows Tucson transit will get $118 million for SunTran and Sun Link, the modern streetcar.
“Public infrastructure leverages private investment,” said Tucson Mayor Regina Romero.
She points out the $180 million invested in the Modern Streetcar has resulted in nearly $1 billion in private investment in downtown Tucson.
There will be another $10 million to help the city clean PFAS out of the cities drinking water.
Amtrak will be awarded $66 billion to improve its lines and add new routes, including a passenger route between Tucson and Phoenix which will run three times a ay.
The $110 billion for roads and bridges will help Tucson build some projects which are badly needed but so far have not been funded.
“It would help us here in Tucson to build the Drexel bridge across the Santa Cruz River,” Mayor Romero said. “A much needed connector would support enhanced economic vitality.”
It would also connect east to west relieving much traffic congestion.
“This is a great moment in our country’s history in regards to Democrats and Republicans working together across the aisle to do something really positive for our country,” said Senator Kelly who was one of the two dozen Senators who worked on the bill every day for three weeks.
The bill now goes to the House where the Democrats hold a slight majority.
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