Arizona and Nevada announce opportunity to provide feedback on the Interstate 11 and Intermountain West Corridor Study (PDF MAP)
Public can comment online in February about Level 2 Analysis

The Arizona and Nevada departments of transportation are hosting an online opportunity through the month of February for anyone interested in providing feedback on the latest Interstate 11 and Intermountain West Corridor Study results.

Today a public feedback period is being launched at www.i11study.com to provide an opportunity to comment on the Level 2 Analysis, which was recently completed by the study team. Those interested in providing input will be able to view a narrated presentation about the current status of the study and then submit comments online.

The two transportation departments have been working together since the summer of 2012 on the Interstate 11 and Intermountain West Corridor Study, which includes detailed corridor planning of a possible interstate link between the Phoenix and Las Vegas metropolitan areas, along with high-level visioning for potentially extending the corridor north to Canada and south to Mexico. Congress designated the future I-11 corridor between Phoenix and Las Vegas as part of the latest surface transportation bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21).

Since last fall, the study team has explored the universe of alternatives for potential routes from Mexico to northern Nevada. That broad range of possible corridor alternatives underwent an initial evaluation and screening process by the study team in October. An additional level of analysis — the Level 2 Analysis — was recently conducted for the congressionally designated portion of the corridor that would connect Phoenix and Las Vegas. This month’s online feedback opportunity will allow the public to view the results of this recent analysis and provide feedback prior to the study moving forward. Those interested in participating should visit the project website at www.i11study.com.

Online feedback for this phase of the study is being accepted through the end of February. However, comments about the I-11 study can be submitted at any time via the project website on the “Get Involved” page.

The Interstate 11 and Intermountain West Corridor Study is a two‐year, multiphase, high‐level study examining the feasibility, benefits, opportunities and constraints of a proposed new interstate highway corridor. This initial study is expected to be completed later this year. Funding to construct a potential corridor has not been identified. In addition to the Arizona and Nevada departments of transportation, the Maricopa Association of Governments, Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, Federal Highway Administration and Federal Railroad Administration are partners in this study.

There is an Interstate 11 coalition with a difficult to read web site supporting the proposed freeway extensions.

The Las Vegas Sun reported two years ago:

If it seems like there’s a hidden catch to this positive news, however, now would be a good time to recite your favorite saying about some things being too good to be true.

None of this gets done without hundreds of millions of dollars that the RTC doesn’t have. That means Southern Nevadans would be on the hook for the bulk of the $350 million Boulder City Bypass tab in the form of higher county gas taxes.

The RTC has entrusted its fortunes to the Clark County Commission, the seven-member body that will likely vote next month on whether to tie the gas tax to inflation. Such a move would increase the gas tax by about 3 cents a year, resulting in the average motorist paying about $16 more for gasoline every year until 2016, when voters can decide to freeze the tax or maintain its link to inflation.