Two groups want to shift the path of the long-discussed Interstate 11 that would link the Phoenix and Las Vegas metro areas.

The Goodyear City Council earlier this month voted to support the potential highway’s route, with the exception of a one-mile stretch that comes close to 1,500 homes in southern Goodyear.

Audubon Arizona is circulating a petition aimed at shifting the highway to an alternative path with less “impact on wildlife and riparian areas.”

The highway, for now, would run 280 miles through Arizona, from Nogales to Wickenburg and connect with an already-built stretch of I-11 in Nevada.

Officials say the highway could eventually be a trade route between Mexico and Canada. In the U.S., they say it would be a boon to state economies and serve as a potential anchor for warehouses and distribution centers along its path.

State and federal officials have identified several routes for the highway, each with 2,000-foot corridors for where it could go. Once they get closer to building, they will narrow that corridor to 400 feet.

“The concept of this north-south corridor has been in discussions for over 25 years,” Goodyear Engineering Director Rebecca Zook told City Council members. “(It will) provide connection between employment hubs and the broader population.”

1,500 homes nearby

The proposed path would start in Nogales and connect to U.S. 93 near Wickenburg by passing near Casa Grande, Maricopa, connecting with the tiny community of Mobile and then swinging northwest toward Buckeye and Wickenburg.

Goodyear is only asking to shift a one-mile stretch of I-11.

I-11’s current 2,000-foot corridor passes close to 1,500 homes in the CantaMia at Estrella community, off Rainbow Valley and Willis roads on the southwest side of the Estrella Mountains.

The highway would not pass over the neighborhood, but city officials are asking the state and the feds to build a one-mile stretch near Rainbow Valley and Willis roads in the 2,000-foot corridor’s western 400 feet, so traffic would be as far as possible from the neighborhood.

Endangered bird habitat

Audubon is also asking officials to shift the highway’s path, but much further to the west.

Audubon is asking people to fill out an online petition calling for officials to build I-11 on one of the proposed alternative routes, which planning documents refer to as the “Orange Route.”

The orange route swings far west to Gila Bend and Interstate 8 before shooting north up MC-85 to Buckeye and then Wickenburg.

Other proposed routes would cut through the Gila River’s marshlands and nearby agricultural land that serve as habitat to birds like the federally endangered Yuma Ridgway’s Rail.

What’s planned for I-11

The planned highway would run for 280 miles through Arizona before connecting with U.S. 93 near Wickenburg to Las Vegas. Nevada has already opened a stretch of I-11, including a bypass around Hoover Dam.

ADOT has laid out three possible routes, including: 

• A 271-mile-long route. It’s a mix of new and existing highway roads. From Nogales, it would pass Tucson to the west before cutting near Maricopa, Buckeye and Wickenburg.
• A 268-mile-long route that’s mostly new highway. It would go west of Tucson, Eloy and Casa Grande.
• A 280-mile-long route that’s mostly existing highways. It would closely follow the route of I-10 before heading far west, all the way to Gila Bend.

Officials taking comments until July 8

Officials are collecting feedback from the public until July 8.

To leave a public comment online, visit i11study.commentinuput.com/?id=a1d203t.

Reach reporter Joshua Bowling at [email protected] or 602-444-8138. Follow him on Twitter @MrJoshuaBowling.

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