PLEASE DON’T BULLDOZE DOWN MY HOME
Our interstate highway system will never be considered “done”. Why is that so? It’s because as our country continues to grow, our highway system will need to grow with it. But what was begun in 1956 by President Eisenhower was considered “complete” August 10, 1990 when the final section of coast-to-coast I-10 (Santa Monica, California, to Jacksonville, Florida) was dedicated as the Papago Freeway Tunnel under downtown Phoenix, Arizona. This portion of I 10 right here in Phoenix was considered the completion of what Eisenhower started.
It is interesting to me that the last few miles of I 10 that made Eisenhower’s dream complete was in our beloved valley. Likewise the next phase of our interstate highway system sounds like it will go near or even through Buckeye!
The proposed Interstate 11, which doesn’t exist yet in reality is going to happen. The 1.2 trillion dollar “infrastructure” bill just passed by Congress in November is not popular with conservatives as it will raise taxes and add to our national debt. It is full of all manner of corporate welfare giveaways and pork for lawmakers’ districts and states and many other things having nothing to do with infrastructure. The one bright spot in the bill is that it will take the proposed Interstate 11 from the wish list to actual construction.
The new road will be 280 miles of freeway, called Interstate 11, which will run from Nogales to Wickenburg here in Arizona. It will eventually connect Mexico & the Phoenix Valley with Las Vegas.
“Portions of I-11 would use existing freeways, such as I-19 between Tucson and Nogales and a short portion of I-11 has been built near Las Vegas. As envisioned by planners and supporters, I-11 could eventually extend northward to Canada.” ~ knau.org
“ADOT estimates the corridor it recommends has a capital cost of $7.6 billion. One alternative route ADOT studied, which consisted mostly of existing infrastructure, would have a capital cost of $3.1 billion and higher maintenance costs than the recommended route.” ~ https://www.pinalcentral.com/casa_grande_dispatch/area_news/i-11-we-dont-want-it-some-residents-say/article_35845006-749d-5507-9e78-f6744c1411aa.html
The cheaper route, at less than half the cost, would be so much less invasive by using existing roads and bringing them up to interstate standards without tearing down a lot of homes.
The “Phoenix New Times” reports, “Environmentalists worry about a new road through hundreds of miles of untouched desert endangering wild animals and contributing to more pollution.”
That is NOT what worries me, however! There seems to be a very real concern that some of the proposed routes for I 11 would take it right through Buckeye subdivisions and they could be taken by eminent domain.
It has not been fully determined exactly where the new highway will run and we can certainly hope that the powers that be will take the common sense approach and not feel the need to knock down our homes to build it, but will take it through the open desert near Buckeye instead.
“Throughout the more than five-year environmental study process for the proposed I-11 facility from Nogales to Wickenburg, study team members from the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration have listened to and heard the public during formal comment periods, public meetings and public hearings that were held throughout the 280-mile study corridor. All comments during this Tier 1 study have been documented as part of the study record.” ~ http://www.i11study.com/arizona/
From what I can tell the public’s chance to be heard as to where the highway will run has already ended and it is apparently too late in the process to voice an objection to the proposed routes. That phase of planning is already over.
I love our interstate highways more than most. I have driven over most of them in all 48 lower states in my years as an over the road trucker. I am a huge fan, but the thought of our beautiful home, yard and pool being destroyed to build a highway is a sickening thought.
At our age the thought of packing up and moving again for any reason is overwhelming. We barely survived the move here from Illinois and we are finally getting settled.
We are newcomers to the area and we had no idea this was a potential problem when we bought our home in Buckeye. I would assume that residents of Buckeye were included in the talks and public planning meetings?
I would love to hear from anyone who attended these meetings for a follow up column and for my own peace of mind.
There are dozens of maps that show the different proposed paths for the new highway, but none I could find actually pinpointed where exactly it would pass through Buckeye. When you blow the maps up and zoom in you still can’t tell exactly where it would go. If anyone has a better link than what I have found please let me know.
I did find an article encouraging letters to the editor of the Tucson newspaper the “AZ Daily Star.”
“There was a steady drumbeat of opposition to the proposed I-11 route in the Opinion section of the AZ Daily Star in 2019 and 2021! Please submit a letter today! The AZ Daily Star will publish letters from individuals after a minimum of 30 days has passed since their last letter was printed so feel free to submit multiple letters over the next few months.”
“All submissions become the property of the Arizona Daily Star. Only original material sent exclusively to the Arizona Daily Star will be considered for publishing. Letters to the Editor should be no more than 160 words.” http://speedway.tucson.com/letters/?action=letter
Apparently the route they choose through or around Tucson could affect which way the new highway will go through or around Buckeye so that is why I included the link.
There are three main paths included in the study, but try as I might I have not had much luck figuring out how Buckeye plays into any of the three plans. However, Buckeye will be affected to some degree by all three of the proposed routes.
The most informative site I found was when Kari Lake (now a gubernatorial candidate) was still a news anchor at Fox 10 Phoenix published way back in May of 2019.
Fox 10 says one man who was about to move into his new home learned that he might have to tear it down!
“There’s several homes being built there now, ones that just got finished,’” said Shane Norton, whose new home in Buckeye is in the proposed path of I-11.
Now, Norton suddenly has a big problem.
‘ Ijust built a house here. I would have not made that decision had I known there was going to be a future freeway coming through here,’ said Norton. From new construction to generational agriculture, folks in Buckeye are not happy with a shift in the new proposed route for Interstate 11 that runs right through their properties.
People had talked about that hey I did my homework before I purchased my house or built my house and this road wasn’t here and all of a sudden that I’ve been here for a year, I’m looking at my home being devalued because there’s a road running through it.”
My sympathies are with Mr. Norton and I am concerned we might fall in that category as well.
I hope my coming late to the party (we have only been here 1 year) is much concern over nothing and our home and yours are safe. I am sure there are folks in Buckeye who know far more about this project than I do and I would love to hear from you!
Write to me Mark@MarkHowerter.com
Quotes For The Week:
“Everybody wants to talk about their rights and privileges. Twenty-five years ago, people talked about their obligations and responsibilities.” – Coach Lou Holtz
“Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.” ~ Lou Holtz
“You’re never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you’re never as bad as they say when you lose.” ~ Lou Holtz
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” ~ Coach Vince Lombardi
