Yavapai County was awarded $25 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation on Dec. 11 in order to pay for one of the county’s most anticipated projects: A road connecting State Route 260 and Middle Verde Road with Cornville Road, including a bridge over the Verde River. The project has been referred to by the county as Verde Connect.
Verde Connect is one of the 91 projects funded under the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development program from the USDOT totaling $1.5 billion, out of 851 BUILD grant applications. It was the only funded project in the state of Arizona this year.
“The project will provide roadway improvements that reduce emergency service response times and will also serve as a vital link during wildfire season for the transport of emergency equipment and as an evacuation route,” stated the USDOT in its description of the award. “Verde Connect will provide a direct connection from an economically disadvantaged area to employment opportunities, as well as increase the possibility for environmentally responsible tourism along the Verde River. The project will also connect the divided community of the Yavapai-Apache Nation, a federally-recognized sovereign Native American nation, that is bisected by the Verde River.”
The grant requires that all funds be fully expended by Sept. 30, 2025, and fully obligated by Sept. 30, 2020. At this point, the county is still in the preliminary stages, without a specific route for the new road selected, so this grant may change the planned time frame. So far, the county held preliminary meetings with the public in late September, informing people about the possibilities but remaining light on specifics.
“It certainly accelerates the timeline from what we had prior to the award of this grant,” Dan Cherry, Public Works Director for Yavapai County, said. “We are still in the midst of this study — the Design Concept Report. We still don’t have a specific corridor selected.”
“We still have some work to do to identify the specific corridor and where a bridge may be constructed, but the timelines that come with the award of the grant certainly put some pressure on us to get moving on making a decision as to where the corridor recommendation would be,” Cherry said. “Because we need to start doing some environ- mental work to make sure we’re compliant with the National Environmental Policy Act.”
Cherry said that he hopes the county can narrow it down to around three potential routes, and hold a second round of public meetings in late winter or early spring allowing for input from the public.
Yavapai County Supervisor Randy Garrison eagerly welcomed the grant money and expressed an expectation that the leaders of the project could meet the accelerated timeline.
“We’re a long ways away, but this starts the clock on us,” Garrison said. “I think we can get it done. It’s going to be a heavy lift, no doubt for our departments as well as the engineering firm. Luckily we hired a very good engineering firm to do the study, and they’re well-positioned to get this done. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner at this point in time.”
Beyond the time frame, the county will have to deal with some opposition from locals against the project. Some in the Middle Verde Road area spoke up at the first set of meetings in September, worried about a new road going through their quiet community. This and concerns that a bypass for Camp Verde’s downtown might hurt local businesses led to the Camp Verde Town Council declining to vote in support of the project in late October, though they did not come out against it.
Some residents of Verde Santa Fe on Cornville Road have also expressed worries that a road passing close to their development could increase traffic.
Still, Garrison is extremely hopeful about the project, and points to support from numerous local governments including the Yavapai-Apache Nation.
“The stars have aligned for us,” Garrison said. “This was a long shot. We got a lot of interest from all the communities in the Verde Valley. Everybody was on board to try and deal with the traffic issues and so the support was great, which I think really lent its hand to us getting this money. So now instead of a dream and a vision it’s going to be a reality. We just have to get to work.”
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
