ADOT Plan Still Includes Bypasses Of Area Towns

By Tammy Gray-Searles
   A presentation on the Statewide Transportation Planning Framework created by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is scheduled from 3 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12, at the High Country Conference Center, located on the Northern Arizona University campus at 201 W. Butler Ave. in Flagstaff.
   Among local changes included in the framework are plans for extending Highway 77 to bypass Holbrook and connect directly with Interstate 40; Highway 87 to connect directly with Interstate 40 in Winslow; and a change to Highway 260 that would bypass Heber.
   The presentation in Flagstaff is one of three planned across the state, including one at the Tucson Convention Center on Nov. 10 and one at the Mesa Convention Center on Nov. 17.
   An ADOT announcement notes that the presentation will include video, interactive displays and dialogue regarding the proposals.
   “The Arizona Department of Transportation has completed a statewide participation process that started in early 2008. During that process, ADOT worked collaboratively with Arizona communities to develop a Statewide Transportation Planning Framework,” the announcement notes.
   “The framework represents the vision for Arizona’s transportation system over the next 40 years. A vision upon which proactive investment decisions can be made to prepare us for anticipated growth ahead. ADOT is now ready to present the full range of recommendations developed with communities statewide.”
   The plans to bypass the towns are being offered up as a way to reduce congestion in the towns, and to provide alternate railroad crossings in Holbrook and Winslow. According to the reports prepared by Wilson and Company, which is doing the preliminary study on the project for ADOT, all of the towns can expect to become congested by the year 2030 if the bypasses are not constructed. The traffic estimates being used by Wilson and Company are based on housing developments that are being proposed by NZ Legacy that have not yet started construction.
   Traffic estimates from 2006 show that a total of 8,400 vehicles travel State Route 77 and 377 in and out of Holbrook each day. A total of 12,100 vehicles travel the southern portion of Navajo Blvd. daily, meaning that if only half of the estimated traffic from Highways 77 and 377 came into Holbrook, routing that traffic around the city would reduce traffic coming through town by about one-third. If all of the vehicles traveling on those highways actually come in to Holbrook, it would reduce traffic on the south end of Navajo Blvd. by about two-thirds. The number of visitors who travel through Holbrook to reach Highway 180 in order to travel to the Petrified Forest and areas beyond would also likely be reduced if the bypass provides direct or easy access to 180 without traveling through town.
    In Winslow, rerouting traffic from Highway 87 directly to Interstate 40 could result in the loss of up to 1,800 vehicles per day on East Business I-40 through town. In 2006, it was estimated that East Business I-40 was traveled by about 4,700 vehicles per day. The proposed bypasses of Winslow would also connect Highway 99 directly with Interstate 40, eliminating traffic through town from that highway as well.
   According to Wilson and Company estimates, by 2030 traffic on Highway 377 is expected to increase from 3,000 vehicles per day in 2006 to 11,200 per day in 2030, and traffic on Highway 77 from 5,400 in 2006 to 17,800 in 2030.
    In Winslow, it is estimated, based on growth, that traffic will increase from 1,800 cars per day on State Route 87 in 2006 to 7,300 in 2030. Proposed alternate routes around Winslow would take up between 4,500 and 4,800 of the estimated vehicles per day in 2030.
    For Heber, it is estimated that approximately 6,300 vehicles pass through the town on Highway 260 each day, but by 2030 that number will be 24,100. Proposed alternates would reroute up to 23,300 of those vehicles, based on the estimates.
   For more information on the presentations of the framework plan, contact Kristin Bornstein at (602) 368-9644.