(The Center Square) – A major interstate in Arizona will be receiving highly sought-after federal funding for a road expansion from Chandler to Casa Grande.
Gov. Katie Hobbs announced a $95 million grant stemming from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Monday to help expand a 26-mile section of the I-10, which is the route drivers typically take when traveling between Phoenix and Tucson.
“The I-10 serves as a major connector for the entire state, and I am thrilled to announce that we have secured the funds necessary to ensure it remains a gateway for generations to come,” Hobbs said in a statement.
“I’m proud to secure these funds for I-10’s expansion through my bipartisan infrastructure law. I promised Arizonans I’d do the hard work to deliver real results, not lip service – today’s investment is one of many more to come for Arizona from my bipartisan infrastructure law,” U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said in a statement.
The grant is considered a big deal to central Arizona leaders, as their request was not fulfilled by the federal government last year to fund the project.
“When we learned last year that Arizona would not be receiving a federal grant for this project, I immediately contacted Governor Hobbs, and together we rolled up our sleeves and got this new grant proposal together, focusing largely on the importance of this road to our Community, and we presented it together to Secretary Buttigieg, a first in our State, and probably in the entire country,” Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said in a statement, as the expansion is happening through his community.
State Sen. TJ Shope, R-Coolidge, said the project is going to serve as a safety improvement for drivers and thanked Hobbs and Roe Lewis for their efforts.
“I’ve dedicated the last several years of my service at the Legislature to securing the dollars needed to create a safer and faster commute for those who rely on this notoriously dangerous stretch of Interstate 10 between Chandler and Casa Grande,” Shope said in a statement. “This federal grant will help make the dreaded rush hour drive through my district a little less painful and will help support the economic growth our state continues to enjoy from the Republican policies implemented over the last decade.”
