Congresswoman Seeks Funding For Area Transportation Projects

By Tammy Gray-Searles
   A request for $1.8 million to help fund replacement of the Obed Bridge outside of Joseph City has been submitted to Congress by Representative Ann Kirkpatrick.
   The request was submitted as part of the transportation reauthorization funding package. A press release from the congresswoman’s office notes that the request is different from an appropriation.
   “Congress considers legislation approximately every six years to authorize surface transportation improvements, including highways, public transit and rail,” according to Kirkpatrick. “As part of that legislation, members work to identify projects in their districts that would improve the safety of our transportation system and aid economic development, and then submit them to the committee for their review. Unlike the appropriations process, the reauthorization bill sets transportation priorities for the long term and not just the next fiscal year.”
   Replacement of the Obed Bridge has been a priority of the Navajo County Board of Supervisors for several years, but has not come to fruition due to a lack of funding. The bridge and the connecting road, which runs from Joseph City to Holbrook, connecting at McLaws Road, has been cited as an alternative route in case of emergency. It has also been proposed as an alternate route if the railroad tracks in Holbrook were blocked for a lengthy period of time. The one-lane Obed Bridge, however, currently limits both the amount of traffic and the size of vehicles that can safely cross, making the route impractical as an alternate route as it is.
   Supervisors have set aside funding in past budget years for work on Obed Bridge, but have had to dip in to those funds to meet other financial obligations.
   Kirkpatrick noted that she chose two projects from each locality from among those that were submitted by communities to her office. The Obed Bridge project is the only one on the list for the Navajo County government, but the list also includes transportation work in Snowflake, Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside.
   A total of $7.3 million in funding has been requested for the Snowflake area, including $5 million for Seventh Street improvements and bridge replacement, and $2.3 million for Snowflake Blvd. East improvements.
   Work in Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside would total $24.2 million if approved, and would include Porter Mountain road improvements, Porter Mountain bridge replacement, an extension of Scott Ranch Road, and improvements to Ranger Road and Brewer Road.
   No projects in Holbrook or Winslow are on the list.
   All told, Kirkpatrick is seeking $535 million for transportation projects in District One.
   “This marks the beginning of an important process that can benefit critical infrastructure in greater Arizona,” Kirkpatrick said. “We have a great need for better and safer transportation options that must be addressed by a long-term commitment to development, and the reauthorization bill presents an opportunity to meet that need.”