I-10 Widening a Game-Changer for Southeast Valley and Pinal County

By Adeel Chaudry

NAIOP Arizona Intern and University of Southern California Student

NAIOP Arizona advocates for continued economic growth within the state through strategic capital investments in high-impact infrastructure projects. A major transportation inefficiency within the Sun Corridor region is the last two-lane stretch between Arizona’s two largest metro areas, Phoenix and Tucson. The state legislature has included $400 million in the state budget to add lanes in this stretch of the I-10, known as the Wild Horse Pass Corridor. The 26-mile segment stretches from Casa Grande in Pinal County to Chandler. The project aims to widen the highway by adding additional general-purpose lanes, improving interchanges, and expanding the high occupancy vehicle lanes in the north.

The $400 million investment by the state puts the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) in an excellent position to apply for federal funding to complete the project on an accelerated timeline. This comes in the form of a $300 million grant application from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. With the combination of federal and state funds, the anticipated completion year for the project is 2026.
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As the leading Commercial Real Estate Development Association in Arizona, NAIOP stands to build a strong economic future while advancing the interests of our members through forward-thinking public policy initiatives. NAIOP President and CEO, Suzanne Kinney, voiced the association’s support of the grant application via a letter addressed to the head of the U.S Department of Transportation, Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Expanding the I-10 freeway will provide numerous benefits to the region. Residents who use the I-10 to commute to Phoenix for work will worry less about bottleneck traffic and unsafe road conditions. Freight traffic from the southern border and California will become more efficient with increased speed and reliability. NAIOP members stand to benefit from the freeway expansion as developers and investors have ongoing projects within the proposed expansion region.

The strategic location of Pinal County has made it a hub for the rising autonomous vehicle industry. This includes industry leaders Nikola and Lucid Motors, which both chose this region as the center for their U.S manufacturing. These large, innovative companies offer a range of job opportunities and act as magnets for car industry suppliers.

In the wake of COVID-19 and supply chain shortages, many companies are searching for strategic low-cost places to build warehouses and fulfillment centers within the United States and to reshore manufacturing. Pinal County’s proximity to the I-10 and affordable prices make it an area ripe for development. By expanding the freeway and making distribution for companies faster, the region will be poised for new investment, making this infrastructure project a win for local economies and the state’s competitive position in the global economy. ​