The Arizona State Transportation Board has approved funding for an environmental study on a portion of the proposed Interstate 11 freeway, which would run north from Nogales to Las Vegas and beyond.

Our bosses at the Arizona Department of Transportation said the board approved $15 million for the study, which will focus on the area between Nogales and Wickenburg. If completed, I-11 could reach as far as Canada.

ADOT Director John Halikowski called the I-11 project "a key transportation corridor to ensure our state’s competitiveness, economic growth and opportunity for all Arizonans."

The interstate's route through Arizona would likely follow the current U.S. Route 93 from Hoover Dam to Wickenburg (pictured), then continue south through an area west of Phoenix and into Tucson and Nogales, ADOT said.

The proposal is a controversial one, so let us know what you think about the project in the comments.

(Photo: Dale Mee | Wickenburg)