Pinal County growth drives need for new roads
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The proposed State Route 505 is intended to alleviate traffic on I-10 and provide a direct route between the East Valley and parts of Pinal County. Image: Courtesy of the Arizona Department of Transportation
As Pinal County grows, the need for new highways and transportation networks does, too.
The big picture: Several major road projects are planned or in the works for Pinal County, though most are likely many years away.
State Route 505: The Arizona Department of Transportation is planning a 55-mile freeway that would run from U.S. 60 in Apache Junction to Interstate 10 east of Eloy, providing access to Queen Creek, Florence and Coolidge.
- Without any funding or design plans, there's no timeline for the 505.
Interstate 11: The long-sought but repeatedly delayed project would partially run through Pinal County.
- One segment would go south from Buckeye through the western part of the county, crossing State Route 347 south of Maricopa.
- From there it would run parallel to Interstate 10, connecting to the freeway southeast of Eloy.
- A 2022 environmental lawsuit forced state and federal officials to pause much of their work, and a new environmental assessment is expected to be completed next year, per ADOT.
State Route 347: ADOT recently began work on a project to widen the highway between Maricopa and I-10, a critical artery for people who live in Maricopa and work in the Valley.
- The majority of Maricopa residents commute outside of town for their jobs, predominantly in the Phoenix area.
- The project will add a lane of traffic in each direction, among other improvements, with completion expected in late 2029.
State Route 24: Pinal County is exploring a possible extension of the highway, which ends at Ironwood Road, to U.S. 60, which would cross paths with the 505 as well. This has no funding.
Interstate 10: The key artery through Pinal County between Phoenix and Tucson is being widened from two lanes to three between Loop 202 in the Valley and State Route 387 near Casa Grande.
- The project is expected to be completed in 2029.
Zoom in: The 505 is intended to relieve I-10 and provide a direct route to the East Valley, says Craig McFarland, president and CEO of Pinal Partnership.
- I-11 will pass through areas of Pinal that are largely uninhabited now, unlocking potential future growth, says former Maricopa Mayor Christian Price, who leads the nonprofit Interstate 11 Coalition.
- "Look at what the 303 has done. Look at what the 101 has done and the 202," he tells Axios.
Reality check: It'll likely be decades before Arizonans are driving on I-11 or Route 505 through Pinal County, and it will require extensive funding that has yet to be appropriated.
- The Wickenburg-to-Buckeye portion of I-11 will almost certainly be built before the Pinal County section, Price says.
The bottom line: Even if they take a long time, the results will be transformative.