The New Highway Program in Arizona

Arizona's New Highway Program Construction During Next Eighteen Months Will Close Nearly All Gaps in Oil Pavements

By E. V. MILLER, Plans Engineer ARIZONA'S apportionment of National Recovery Highway funds is divided into three classifications:

The $5,211,960 program for Arizona, which has been given official approval at Washington, is divided as follows: "Highway" projects $4,811,260, "Secondary" projects $600,700, and "Municipal" projects $800,000.

Improvements set up in the budget for the "Highway" projects include approximately 227 miles of grading and draining, 236 miles of oil surfacing, 219 miles of seal coat, 90 miles of shoulder widening, 11 miles of pavement widening, 15 bridges, and the separation of grades at two railroad crossings. In addition to this, there will be some miscellaneous work, such as widening of an underpass, railroad grade separation, placing of guard rail, and landscaping at certain points. A certain amount of landscaping is required under the rules of the National Recovery Act.

Under the "secondary" highway budget, there will be constructed 41 miles oil surface, about 25 miles grading and two railroad grade separations.

The "municipal" highway projects budgeted cover work in every incorporated city and town in Arizona on the 7 per cent system with the exception of three towns in which highways are fully paved or have ample pavement width to accommodate the traffic flow.

In apportioning the funds, the department tried to set up enough to close existing gaps in the present highway system, the elimination of certain traffic hazards, and at the same time spread the funds over the state as equitably as possible consistent with the needs of the unemployment situation.

Plans now are virtually complete for grading and oil projects in excess of $2,000,000, for which the department will call for bids when Public Roads Bureau approval has been received. The various projects proposed, and type of work, are shown on the map on the opposite page. A comparison with the picture of how the highway system will look within the next year or 15 months.

Upon completion of this 18 month program, we will find oiled highways from Nogales through Phoenix and Ashfork to Gallup, N. M., over U. S. 89 and U. S. 66; from Yuma to Tucson over both the Phoenix or Casa Grande routes; Phoenix to Blythe, Calif., on U. S. 60 west and Phoenix to El Paso, Tex., over both the Globe U. S. 180 route or via Tucson and Douglas. The only projects left to be completed on the major routes of the 7 per cent system will be short portions of U. S. 66 between Kingman and Seligman which the department contemplates grading this year and U. S. 60 north of the Salt River between Globe and Showlow. The bridge over the Salt River is completely designed and a call for bids may be expected very shortly. An item has been set up for construction north from the bridge, and a contract on this portion is proposed as soon as the bridge is completed.

Besides the Highway Department's program as submitted, there is $4,838,000 allotted for highways in this state to be expended by the National Forest, Parks and Indian departments, giving to Arizona more than $10,000,000 for road work during the next year and a half. The state and federal programs are expected to relieve the unemployment situation to a very material extent.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS