Should federal grants favor highway repair over expansion?

Arizona officials refer to a notoriously congested stretch of desert highway through tribal land as the Wild Horse Pass Corridor, a label that’s less about horses than the bustling casino by the same name located just north of where the interstate constricts to four lanes. “Upset would be the right terminology,” Casa Grande Mayor Craig McFarland said of his reaction when he learned the project won’t receive one of the law’s first Mega Grants the U.S. Department of Transportation will announce this week. Along with the nine projects selected, transportation department staff listed seven others as “highly recommended” — a distinction Davis said makes them clear front-runners to secure money next year. Arizona’s I-10 widening effort was part of a third group of 13 projects labeled as “recommended,” which Davis said could put them in contention for future funding unless they’re surpassed by even stronger applicants. They were looking to fund projects that have bike paths and trailways instead of a major interstate?” Testifying in March before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg assured Arizona Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly that he understood the state’s unique highway needs and that his department wouldn’t “stand in the way of a capacity expansion where it’s appropriate.” Some Republicans, however, remain skeptical, in part due to a memo the Federal Highway Administration distributed in December 2021, a month after Biden signed the bill.