Money for schools and infrastructure:
Governor requests $600 million for road, sewer, water projects
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey submits a $600 million infrastructure proposal to President Donald Trump that includes tens of millions of dollars to address several healthand capital-related issues in Arizona schools.
A Nogales, Ariz., pipeline is so decrepit that untreated waste could leak sewage during heavy rains.
At least 2,000 wells in the state are open and should be covered or shut down because they pose a hazard to the public.
And roadways that carry millions of people should be widened to boost international business and lessen the likelihood of traffic accidents.
Those infrastructure projects are among a dozen proposals that Gov. Doug Ducey is asking President Donald Trump to consider for his proposed $1 trillion infrastructure program. Without the improvement, lives could be lost, children’s health could be compromised, roads could continue to crumble, and a
bridge could collapse, the governor warned.
How such a massive undertaking would be funded is unclear, but the National Governors Association asked state leaders to compile a list of projects that could begin quickly.
A spokeswoman for the NGA said Thursday that Ducey’s 12 infrastructure proposals were among hundreds submitted to the White House. State chiefs’ wish-lists range from overhauling and expanding airports, highways and masstransit systems, and water and energy projects.
Ducey’s $600 million list is centered on highways and roadways and a bridge on Interstate 15 in the northwest part of the state. The governor wants to widen Interstate 10, saying several bottlenecks disrupt commerce and “safety improvements” should be made to decrease injuries. That project alone could cost anywhere from $160 million to $250 million.
He wants to widen to four lanes State Route 260, which is in the north-central part of the state, and U.S. 93, which connects Phoenix to Las Vegas. The price tags on those projects are estimated at $80 million.
The governor estimates it could cost up to $40 million to fix pipes that have leaked untreated sewage in Nogales and the Nogales Wash. A pipeline transporting millions of gallons of domestic sewage each day from Nogales, Ariz., and its sister city, Nogales, Sonora, to the Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plan has structural problems. A federal commission tasked with addressing issues related to the U.S.-Mexico treaties involving boundaries “continues to look to Nogales, Arizona,” to fund repairs, the governor’s records say.
Ducey is also asking for about $64 million to test school water for lead, fix school air conditioners and test rubber floors that contain mercury. Those floors “are still off-gassing mercury vapors which presents a potential public health hazard, especially to school children,” the records say. While testing has started on school water, about 25 percent of schools “are estimated to fail lead water testing.”
Follow the reporter on Twitter @yvonnewingett and reach her at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4712.