The city of Cottonwood has put its support behind a Camp Verde initiative to see State Route 260 widened all the way between Cottonwood and Interstate 17.
The Cottonwood City Council passed a resolution at its Dec. 4 meeting backing the effort to help get the ball rolling with the Arizona Department of Transportation, Cottonwood City Clerk Marianne Jiménez said.
Earlier this year, the Camp Verde Town Council hired a consulting firm, Marathon Public Affairs, to work on the initial phases of the initiative. Camp Verde hopes the $15,000 effort will lead to the project being placed on ADOT’s next five-year plan.
While the project is slated for 2016, there is limited funding. Camp Verde has reached out to surrounding communities in an effort to present a unified voice from the Verde Valley to show ADOT everyone is committed to the project and on the same page.
An effort was made several years ago to plan a four-lane divided highway between Cottonwood and Camp Verde with safety not the least among the issues driving the cause. That effort fell apart when the communities and landowners involved couldn’t reach a consensus.
ADOT instead decided to make limited improvements on the road including the addition of a couple of passing lanes.
“The City Council and our citizens clearly recognize the benefit of improving Highway 260 all the way to Camp Verde and I-17,” a report prepared by the Cottonwood City Manager’s Office stated. “These improvements will increase safety and improve economic development by creating an effective transportation corridor for our community members and visitors.”
For the full story, see the Wednesday, Dec. 12, edition of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
