Still no word on I-19 sign project

The Interstate 19 sign replacement project is one of five road projects in Arizona that have not proceeded to the bidding process after being approved for federal stimulus funds. Meanwhile, 33 others have moved forward.

Tens of millions of dollars in contracts have been awarded for 13 road projects using stimulus money, and 20 more are in the bidding stage, according to a detailed breakdown of the $350 million in transportation stimulus projects from the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The $1.5 million Interstate 19 project was placed on hold by Gov. Brewer after objections arose to switching from kilometer markings to miles. That left the project in a distinct minority: of eight projects in Pima County costing a total of $46.6 million, six are in the bidding stage. The other one that remains in the pre-bid stage is a $9.1 million freeway management system on Interstate 10 from I-19 to Valencia Road.

The I-19 19 sign project is part of a statewide effort to replace existing freeway signs with more reflective technology to improve safety.

The project, the only local project that would be funded by stimulus money, has become controversial because it would replace kilometer markers and exit numbers with miles. The sign replacement project has been on a list of projects proposed by ADOT for years but was not funded until this year, when it qualified for federal stimulus funds.

The governor placed it on hold after objections from Green Valley business operators who don’t want the expense of changing exit numbers on their literature and by others who like the history attached to the signs.

Many have commented that they would prefer to see the stimulus money go to schools or other projects that appear to address more serious needs, though as a part of the state’s transportation budget, it cannot go for education. In addition, the stimulus package is geared to “shovel-ready” projects that do not require time-consuming engineering or design work, so even a proposal for a road project serving a future school, for example, could not qualify unless design work were already completed, which is not likely in the current school funding climate.

Somewhat lost in the discussion is that the I-19 sign project was proposed as part of a statewide safety measure.

“Over the next several years, ADOT plans to replace freeway signs across the state to bring them up to the new sign standards,” ADOT spokeswoman Linda Ritter said. “The availability of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding will help us get closer to the goal of having all freeway signing in Arizona meeting the minimum standards set forth by the Federal Highway Administration in December 2007.”

“The average motorist would notice an immediate difference in the brightness of the signs at night, because they employ the latest generation of technology for reflective surfaces,” she said. ADOT began a $2.7 million sign replacement project aimed at improving reflectivity in October 2007 on Interstate 10 from Craycroft Road to Willcox, Ritter said. Elsewhere in the state, sign construction projects are under way on Interstate 8 from Dateland to Gila Bend and on State Route 143 in Phoenix.

pfranchine@sahuaritasun.com | 547-9738

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For more information on the status of stimulus-financed road projects in Arizona, go to: http://www.azdot.gov/recovery/