Interstate 11

[kdk]

And as I've said several times, Arizona's growth is reducing water consumption. When a cottonfield is turned into a suburban subdivision, water use goes down. That's a big reason why Arizona uses less water now than it did 70 years ago.

Lake Mead and other reservoirs in that region are still hitting record low levels.

Yeah, but that's not driven by urban water use in Arizona... that's the result of drought and reduced runoff probably caused mostly by climate change.

If Arizona turns its cropland into subdivisions, where is the fresh produce going to come from?  For that matter, a lot of Arizona produce goes to other parts of the country for winter crops.

I'm sure there's lot of land in Arizona that could be converted to farmland. Eventually we really need to pioneer vertical farming but that'll come with time.

There is more land in AZ that can be converted, but getting water to it does become an issue in some scenarios.  However most of the produce sold around the country actually comes from the Yuma area.  The Yuma area is slightly warmer than the rest of the state and has some of the most productive farms in the world.  In and around Yuma you don't see farmland being sold for development, it's actually more valuable as a farm than it is as a new housing development.  There isn't any loss of farmland to development in the SW part of the state at all.

[kernals12]

Yeesh.  Everything south of I-10 is just a developer pork project rather than one designed to further the transportation needs of regional travelers.  Why not just send it down AZ 85 to I-8 and terminate there?  That would fill in a genuine gap in the interstate system and not put in pointless extra mileage.  And why does it need to overlap or replace I-19?  If I-19 were to be replaced by something, I'd rather it be I-17 so that I-17's numbers would at least (appear to - they'd still be off by ~20 miles) make sense.  Is this some back-door way to force I-19 away from metric?

The purpose of I-11 is to get trucks from Nogales to Las Vegas, while bypassing Phoenix.

That's not what we were told back when I-11 proponents were trying to get traction to get the project started.

I don't think you realize just how much Arizona is projected to grow in the future. If that growth happens in existing cities, it will mean more congestion and less livability. Sprawl means that existing communities aren't faced with the burdens of more people.

But west of the White Tank Mountains?  Who is going to live all the way the hell out there when there is no direct access over that range over than slogging all the way down to I-10?  The most practical path I-11 could have took was down US 60 and AZ 303 to reach I-10.  At least if I-11 went down to I-8 via AZ 85 it would serve as a long haul bypass of Phoenix from the Tucson and border areas around Nogales.

As a matter of fact, they're planning two freeways in that area.

That map is close to 15 years old -- ancient and obsolete.  It's so old that it calls the Gateway Fwy AZ 802 (it's AZ 24), and the Tres Rios Fwy AZ 801 (it will be AZ 30),  With the route of I-11 going so far west, I don't know when or if they'll ever build the Loop 404, which was supposed to be taken over by I-11.

The Gateway Fwy is currently being expanded, but only the ramps and the ground-level pavement, similar to the original construction of AZ 51, 40 years ago.  There's no funding yet to upgrade it to a full freeway.

The Tres Rios is being fast-tracked, from what I've heard, because of the extreme overload on I-10 in the West Valley.  It's still many years away from completion.

The Pinal North/South Fwy has just been approved, but it also is not funded.  There is also funding to complete the Loop 303 as a full freeway in Peoria, including full ramps at I-17.  AZ 85 will also be upgraded to a full freeway between I-10 and I-8, but when it happens is anybody's guess.

Those are the only freeways that are guaranteed to get built in the next decade.  I-11 will eventually get done, but it will remain US 93 for the unforeseeable future, even after 4-laning is complete.

You can throw away every other freeway proposal.  Not gonna happen in my lifetime (and I'm 66).

There's enough planned development up there to justify a freeway connecting I-11 to Loop 303.

And ADOT has issued an EIS for the Pinal North South Freeway

The Great Recession delayed a lot of growth for the Phoenix area, but now it's back on track and they need to prepare for an extra 2-3 million people by the middle of the century. Most of these extra people will be living in the West Valley and Pinal County.

There's not enough water for that many more people.

Yeah there is. Arizona has enough water to sustain a large cotton industry, it has enough water for millions and millions of new residents

i sincerely doubt this, water levels continue to decrease and the drought isn't subsiding. now they are instituting cuts. unless i see evidence otherwise.

The entire city of Tucson uses 1/7th as much water as Arizona's Cotton Farmers

[The Ghostbuster]

Water talk in this thread again? I already posted an Off-Topic thread for this kind of discussion (National Water Policies: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=29861.50). Unless Interstate 11 is planned to be built solely on water, I suggest water talk go back to the thread I started.

[civilengineeringnerd]

i wonder, outside of a potential connection to Loop 303, where would the alignment for I-11 be from nevada state line to phoenix?
sorry if i sound ignorant, i haven't 100% caught up on the thread yet. also hi.

[sprjus4]

^ The likely outcome will be an upgrade of US-93 between the Nevada state line and I-40, an overlap with I-40 east, then continuing to follow US-93 (either existing alignment or new parallel interstate) south to roughly Wickenburg. Around this point, I-11 will likely head due south to meet I-10 at AZ-85.

The connection to Phoenix would be made by following I-10 East into the city.

Others have proposed continuing along US-60 to Loop 303, then following Loop 303 to I-10. Both ultimately put drivers onto I-10 west of the city.

Ideally I-11 would continue straight into Phoenix along US-60, however that would involve upgrading the existing roadway into a six or eight lane urban interstate highway. From an engineering standpoint, it does appear somewhat doable as it's not heavily developed directly onto the roadway and a number of grade separations already exist, but it would still be costly expenditure. Perhaps Phoenix should have constructed a US-60 freeway back in the 1980s and 1990s when constructing all the other beltways around the city. Even without a full interstate highway, it's certainly a busy stretch of highway locally.

While local needs might necessitate an upgrade of the roadway in the future to a freeway, the idea for now is for regional and long distance traffic just to follow the existing I-10 urban interstate from the city center west until far outside of the city, and then turn north onto a new rural interstate highway that will be far less costly to construct, and still provide that connection northward to Las Vegas.

For what it's worth, I-11 would not actually overlap I-10 into Phoenix. It would end at I-10 (or continue south onto AZ-85 if any crazy proposals to actually go all the way to Mexico go forth) and traffic bound to Phoenix would utilize I-10 to complete the link.

[Bobby5280]

Routing I-11 to Loop 303 and having it overlap 303 down to I-10 would be the lesser of all evils involved. It would be the most sensible solution. And it would probably cost a lot less money to build than some of the odd-ball routings that would take I-11 way around the West and South sides of the Phoenix metro area.

I've said it so many times before. No one driving from Las Vegas to Phoenix is going to turn due South at Wickenburg to drive clear down to I-10 (way out past the White Tank Mountains) to then back-track to Phoenix. Nope. They're going to stay on US-60 whether it's a freeway or not.

The only reason why some people are insisting on routing I-11 way out West of Phoenix is so they can extend some big favors to certain real estate developers, hoping for a boom out by Buckeye. I-10 has long crossed through that region. Why hasn't it been booming already? The I-10/AZ-85 junction should be surrounded by outlet malls and planned neighborhoods by now. Chances are if they rout I-11 on a path over Sun Valley Parkway or even farther West the Interstate won't have much effect on that area. And its traffic counts will likely be minimal too since US-60 to Loop 303 is a more direct shot. Even with a few traffic signals along the way.

As for US-60 inside Loop 303, aka Grand Avenue, that's a lost cause for any desires to upgrade it to a fully limited access freeway. The railroad ROW complicates any efforts to build new grade-separated intersections. In most areas along Grand Avenue between Loop 303 and I-17 there just isn't enough ROW to build a proper urban freeway even if the rail line was removed. The best case scenario for Grand Avenue is just more spot upgrades to grade-separate intersections one at a time and do more to restrict side street and driveway access to the US-60 main lanes. But only so many intersections can be upgraded and only so many side streets blocked. US-60 will never be a free flowing arterial free of stoplights in our lifetimes. Inside Loop 303 US-60 will always be a somewhat glorified city street.

[Zonie]

You have very narrow spots between Wickenburg and Morristown, such as this location:

33.88862841970958, -112.66446511755845

That part of US 60 was within Option W, which was eliminated in ADOT's 2017 Alternatives Report

http://i11study.com/Arizona/PDF/I-11_ASR_December-2017.pdf

Option W: This option performs poorly against the screening criteria, and is not preferred by stakeholders due to potential community and environmental impacts. Additional reasons for elimination include: 

- Sun Valley Parkway (which W is co-located with directly north of I-10) and US 60 are non-access controlled arterials (approximately 120 feet in right-of-way width) surrounded by built, under construction, and entitled properties. It would be challenging to overlay an access-controlled freeway over a functioning arterial with limited future expansion opportunities without major disruption to adjacent urban development. This option would require construction of additional local access routes in addition to the high-capacity facility. 
- Option W would require the construction of a second system interchange on I-10 to transition from SR 85 to Sun Valley Parkway. The spacing of these interchanges is not ideal and would add a great cost to the project. 
- Various environmental concerns have been voiced by stakeholders, including critical habitat issues identified along the Hassayampa River, major wash and alluvial floodplain issues between the river and White Tank Mountains, difficulty crossing a large linear dam located just north of I-10 managed by the Flood Control District of Maricopa County, impacts to the Town of Wickenburg, and impacts to the Hassayampa River Preserve.

There is a boom in Buckeye, albeit a decade late.  Buckeye was 6,500 people at the beginning of the century, and is just shy of 100,000 in the 2020 Census and 110,000 in the latest Census Bureau estimates.

[The Ghostbuster]

It will probably be a few decades before any substantial segments of Interstate 11 is completed in Arizona. Ditto for Interstate 11 between Las Vegas and Interstate 80. I'm not sure any of us will live to see Interstate 11 completed from the Mexican border at Nogales to Interstate 80 in Nevada (and we most certainly won't be alive when/if Interstate 11 is extended north of 80 to Oregon/Washington/Idaho or the Canadian border).

[abqtraveler]

It will probably be a few decades before any substantial segments of Interstate 11 is completed in Arizona. Ditto for Interstate 11 between Las Vegas and Interstate 80. I'm not sure any of us will live to see Interstate 11 completed from the Mexican border at Nogales to Interstate 80 in Nevada (and we most certainly won't be alive when/if Interstate 11 is extended north of 80 to Oregon/Washington/Idaho or the Canadian border).

I would say that's true, save for the Hoover Dam to I-40 segment of I-11. Construction is slated to begin in 2024 on the new Future I-11/I-40 Kingman interchange and bypass. Once that is finished, I think you'll see ADOT move pretty quickly on upgrading US-93 from the end of the Kingman Bypass to Hoover Dam in fairly short order. That stretch is already 4 lanes through a remote area with relatively few intersecting roads and driveways, so I think it would be fairly easy to upgrade to interstate standards.

[brad2971]

It will probably be a few decades before any substantial segments of Interstate 11 is completed in Arizona. Ditto for Interstate 11 between Las Vegas and Interstate 80. I'm not sure any of us will live to see Interstate 11 completed from the Mexican border at Nogales to Interstate 80 in Nevada (and we most certainly won't be alive when/if Interstate 11 is extended north of 80 to Oregon/Washington/Idaho or the Canadian border).

I would say that's true, save for the Hoover Dam to I-40 segment of I-11. Construction is slated to begin in 2024 on the new Future I-11/I-40 Kingman interchange and bypass. Once that is finished, I think you'll see ADOT move pretty quickly on upgrading US-93 from the end of the Kingman Bypass to Hoover Dam in fairly short order. That stretch is already 4 lanes through a remote area with relatively few intersecting roads and driveways, so I think it would be fairly easy to upgrade to interstate standards.

I would strongly recommend taking a look at some of the gas stations, truckstops, and convenience stores along US 93 that have been built in the time since the Hoover Dam bypass was opened before concluding how "easy" it would be to upgrade US 93 to a fully access-controlled Interstate 11. Take a special look at the convenience store with the Chevron gas pumps that was built at Pierce Ferry Rd and US 93. Also take note that that particular intersection was considered to be the deadliest in Arizona.

If the cost of a full upgrade gets well into the nine-figure range, I would fully expect ADOT and Arizona's congressional delegation to do what they can to get FHWA to accept US 93 as-is and call it I-11.

[sprjus4]

^ Most likely scenario, they'll complete the I-40 freeway connector and maybe an interchange or two between Kingman and Nevada, and then leave the existing US-93 divided highway as is for at least a decade or more.

The priorities, IMO, should be getting town bypasses constructed, 4 lane widening / interstate upgrade on the remaining 2 lane portion, and a new location segment between Wickenburg and I-10.

Rural 4 lane portions that are free-flowing make sense to upgrade last. I'm not saying they're never going to happen or not needed, but they are the most adequate existing compared to other portions.

[splashflash]

It will probably be a few decades before any substantial segments of Interstate 11 is completed in Arizona. Ditto for Interstate 11 between Las Vegas and Interstate 80. I'm not sure any of us will live to see Interstate 11 completed from the Mexican border at Nogales to Interstate 80 in Nevada (and we most certainly won't be alive when/if Interstate 11 is extended north of 80 to Oregon/Washington/Idaho or the Canadian border).

I would say that's true, save for the Hoover Dam to I-40 segment of I-11. Construction is slated to begin in 2024 on the new Future I-11/I-40 Kingman interchange and bypass. Once that is finished, I think you'll see ADOT move pretty quickly on upgrading US-93 from the end of the Kingman Bypass to Hoover Dam in fairly short order. That stretch is already 4 lanes through a remote area with relatively few intersecting roads and driveways, so I think it would be fairly easy to upgrade to interstate standards.

I would strongly recommend taking a look at some of the gas stations, truckstops, and convenience stores along US 93 that have been built in the time since the Hoover Dam bypass was opened before concluding how "easy" it would be to upgrade US 93 to a fully access-controlled Interstate 11. Take a special look at the convenience store with the Chevron gas pumps that was built at Pierce Ferry Rd and US 93. Also take note that that particular intersection was considered to be the deadliest in Arizona.

If the cost of a full upgrade gets well into the nine-figure range, I would fully expect ADOT and Arizona's congressional delegation to do what they can to get FHWA to accept US 93 as-is and call it I-11.

That intersection was studied a few years ago for grade separation:

https://azdot.gov/planning/transportation-studies/us-93-pierce-ferry-road-feasibility-study

[Bobby5280]

The intersection of US-93 and CR-25/Pierce Ferry Road in Dolan Springs does not look difficult to upgrade into a freeway exit with slip ramps and frontage roads. There is a lot of land between the Southbound US-93 lanes and the column of utility lines. That little Arizona Trading Post store was technically built inside the highway ROW and utility easement. I'm pretty sure ADOT could arrange to get the store relocated to the other side of the highway or something.

A little farther up the road a the White Hills Rd intersection a new Pilot convenience store opened recently. But that section of US-93 has a 300' wide ROW. It's wide enough to do a freeway upgrade without affecting the travel center.

ADOT really does need to be on the ball about corridor preservation if they really do intend to build I-11 down to Kingman. It's imperative they don't allow any new buildings to stupidly get built right up on the f***king highway. They need to keep a 300' wide ROW clear wherever they can.

[abqtraveler]

Take a special look at the convenience store with the Chevron gas pumps that was built at Pierce Ferry Rd and US 93. Also take note that that particular intersection was considered to be the deadliest in Arizona.

If that's the case, then that intersection should be prioritized as the first to be converted to an interchange once the Kingman Bypass and new interchange with I-40 is completed.

[Bobby5280]

If they've been having a lot of deadly collisions at that intersection ADOT should have grade-separated it a long time ago. If they've known that intersection was a big safety problem then it's negligence that they've done nothing about it.

[Plutonic Panda]

Take a special look at the convenience store with the Chevron gas pumps that was built at Pierce Ferry Rd and US 93. Also take note that that particular intersection was considered to be the deadliest in Arizona.

If that's the case, then that intersection should be prioritized as the first to be converted to an interchange once the Kingman Bypass and new interchange with I-40 is completed.

Arizona isn't Mississippi. It's a growing state and isn't poor. I'm sure they could find the money for this one interchange while they build the project in Kingman. They don't seem to really care much which shows with them dragging their feet. The segment from I-40 to Phoenix I can understand not immediately upgrading to I-11 but they really should have a plan to get the entire section from I-40 to the Nevada state line upgraded by 2030.

[Bobby5280]

I don't see why ADOT would have to take a long time converting US-93 to I-11 from Kingman to the Hoover Dam. The I-11 connection in Kingman is, by far, the most difficult part of the project. Everything else appears pretty easy to upgrade.

That intersection a few miles NW of Kingman (US-93 @ Agua Fria Drive and Sundown Drive) looks like the only tight spot along the way. Even at that point they have around 270' of space to work with at the intersection.

[Sub-Urbanite]

I don't see why ADOT would have to take a long time converting US-93 to I-11 from Kingman to the Hoover Dam. The I-11 connection in Kingman is, by far, the most difficult part of the project. Everything else appears pretty easy to upgrade.

That intersection a few miles NW of Kingman (US-93 @ Agua Fria Drive and Sundown Drive) looks like the only tight spot along the way. Even at that point they have around 270' of space to work with at the intersection.

Legit looking at a maximum of 8 interchanges between AZ 68 and Hoover Dam:

- Agua Fria Road
- Chloride
- Cerbat Mountains
- Dolan Springs / Pearce Ferry
- White Hills
- Temple Bar
- Willow Beach
- Maybe one between Willow and Old Kingman Wash

That's ... the max.

Now, the problem, of course, is that even if each of those is only $10 million — and I think that's probably a lowball — that's $80 million that isn't being spent on other needs in Arizona...

[abqtraveler]

I don't see why ADOT would have to take a long time converting US-93 to I-11 from Kingman to the Hoover Dam. The I-11 connection in Kingman is, by far, the most difficult part of the project. Everything else appears pretty easy to upgrade.

That intersection a few miles NW of Kingman (US-93 @ Agua Fria Drive and Sundown Drive) looks like the only tight spot along the way. Even at that point they have around 270' of space to work with at the intersection.

Legit looking at a maximum of 8 interchanges between AZ 68 and Hoover Dam:

- Agua Fria Road
- Chloride
- Cerbat Mountains
- Dolan Springs / Pearce Ferry
- White Hills
- Temple Bar
- Willow Beach
- Maybe one between Willow and Old Kingman Wash

That's ... the max.

Now, the problem, of course, is that even if each of those is only $10 million — and I think that's probably a lowball — that's $80 million that isn't being spent on other needs in Arizona...

And that's the problem faced by not just Arizona, but every other state. Since Congress banned earmarks about 10-15 years ago, states have had to rack and stack their projects, each project competing against the next for a limited amount of funding. And in Arizona, projects in the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas get prioritized over the rest of the state.

I could see the rural interchanges costing around $10M apiece, as I would think they would be simple diamond interchanges. Out here in New Mexico, a couple of intersections were converted to interchanges on the NM-599 bypass around Santa Fe for about $6-8 million each, but that was about 10 years ago.

[Rothman]

I don't see why ADOT would have to take a long time converting US-93 to I-11 from Kingman to the Hoover Dam. The I-11 connection in Kingman is, by far, the most difficult part of the project. Everything else appears pretty easy to upgrade.

That intersection a few miles NW of Kingman (US-93 @ Agua Fria Drive and Sundown Drive) looks like the only tight spot along the way. Even at that point they have around 270' of space to work with at the intersection.

Legit looking at a maximum of 8 interchanges between AZ 68 and Hoover Dam:

- Agua Fria Road
- Chloride
- Cerbat Mountains
- Dolan Springs / Pearce Ferry
- White Hills
- Temple Bar
- Willow Beach
- Maybe one between Willow and Old Kingman Wash

That's ... the max.

Now, the problem, of course, is that even if each of those is only $10 million — and I think that's probably a lowball — that's $80 million that isn't being spent on other needs in Arizona...

And that's the problem faced by not just Arizona, but every other state. Since Congress banned earmarks about 10-15 years ago, states have had to rack and stack their projects, each project competing against the next for a limited amount of funding. And in Arizona, projects in the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas get prioritized over the rest of the state.

I could see the rural interchanges costing around $10M apiece, as I would think they would be simple diamond interchanges. Out here in New Mexico, a couple of intersections were converted to interchanges on the NM-599 bypass around Santa Fe for about $6-8 million each, but that was about 10 years ago.

If you think earmarks are "illegal," you didn't look at the most recent transportation-related federal bills...

[Bobby5280]

Earmarks were banned (mostly), but they've sort of been allowed to make a come-back.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/03/17/earmarks-are-back-and-americans-should-be-glad/

The actions to greatly restrict the use of earmarks turned out to be a stupid idea. One big consequence of it was greatly limiting deal-making abilities of lawmakers, which included negotiating across the aisle with representatives or senators from other political parties. With that incentive greatly restricted it allowed the far left and far right "entertainment wings" of the two parties to dominate. The political landscape was already getting polarized thanks to cable networks passing "news" off as a form of anger pornography. The earmarks factor made the polarization even worse.

[brad2971]

Earmarks were banned (mostly), but they've sort of been allowed to make a come-back.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/03/17/earmarks-are-back-and-americans-should-be-glad/

The actions to greatly restrict the use of earmarks turned out to be a stupid idea. One big consequence of it was greatly limiting deal-making abilities of lawmakers, which included negotiating across the aisle with representatives or senators from other political parties. With that incentive greatly restricted it allowed the far left and far right "entertainment wings" of the two parties to dominate. The political landscape was already getting polarized thanks to cable networks passing "news" off as a form of anger pornography. The earmarks factor made the polarization even worse.

I don't know. Do you really want to sell the idea of how good it is to have good political deal-makers to a nation that is in another one of its periodic low-trust societal periods? Especially when, in the case of transportation projects such as converting US 93 to I-11 from the Hoover Dam to Kingman, it doesn't take much effort to disprove the need for such a project.

[Bobby5280]

Do you really want to sell the idea of how good it is to have good political deal-makers to a nation that is in another one of its periodic low-trust societal periods?

Try thinking about it a little bit rather than accusing me of "selling an idea."

It's very simple. In recent years there has been very little incentive for "lawmakers" to conduct the act of governing in any kind of sane, grown-up manner. Historically this has required actually talking to all members of Congress, even people in other parties, to win support for a piece of legislation. In the past far more members of Congress have been closer to the political center because it was more practical. They could get more things done there.

The combination of a powerful news-as-entertainment media and the lack of earmarks as a bargaining tool has caused politicians to pander to the most extreme wings of their parties in order to get elected, raise campaign money, etc. The biggest loud-mouth a$$holes get the face time on the cameras. Any serious issue is all levels of gray, not black-and-white. But any politician who wants to talk about an issue like an intelligent adult will be pushed aside by the "news" channels who are only interested in airing content that gets viewers pissed off or scared. This is essentially why the situation is so extremely polarized.

The "news" channels only want to point cameras at a politician willing to give them some red-meat anger porn. During the 2016 primary season the media literally chose the guy who would then become President. That's because he had no problem saying lots of inflammatory things and hurling personal insults. The guy literally got billions of dollars worth of free face time. He "sucked all the oxygen out of the room." The other guys competing in the primaries had no chance, not even a certain senator from Texas. Since then other "lawmakers" have been using the same play book to get attention, raise campaign money, etc.

There might be some hope for more sanity to return. The recent mid-terms have shown the nation is getting tired of being subjected to the hysteria from the entertainment wings of the two major parties. More people might be getting wise to the fact the news channels and media whore politicians are just yanking their chains to get attention and advertising dollars. When the whole thing is exposed as a pro-wrestling style act it might force those "lawmakers" to grow the f*** up and start conducting themselves more like adults.

[Rothman]

Earmarks were banned (mostly), but they've sort of been allowed to make a come-back.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/03/17/earmarks-are-back-and-americans-should-be-glad/

The actions to greatly restrict the use of earmarks turned out to be a stupid idea. One big consequence of it was greatly limiting deal-making abilities of lawmakers, which included negotiating across the aisle with representatives or senators from other political parties. With that incentive greatly restricted it allowed the far left and far right "entertainment wings" of the two parties to dominate. The political landscape was already getting polarized thanks to cable networks passing "news" off as a form of anger pornography. The earmarks factor made the polarization even worse.

Not "sort of allowed." They're back and even being called as such.

[skluth]

Earmarks were banned (mostly), but they've sort of been allowed to make a come-back.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/03/17/earmarks-are-back-and-americans-should-be-glad/

The actions to greatly restrict the use of earmarks turned out to be a stupid idea. One big consequence of it was greatly limiting deal-making abilities of lawmakers, which included negotiating across the aisle with representatives or senators from other political parties. With that incentive greatly restricted it allowed the far left and far right "entertainment wings" of the two parties to dominate. The political landscape was already getting polarized thanks to cable networks passing "news" off as a form of anger pornography. The earmarks factor made the polarization even worse.

I don't know. Do you really want to sell the idea of how good it is to have good political deal-makers to a nation that is in another one of its periodic low-trust societal periods? Especially when, in the case of transportation projects such as converting US 93 to I-11 from the Hoover Dam to Kingman, it doesn't take much effort to disprove the need for such a project.

Yes. I want people on the opposite sides of issues to learn to talk, work together, and maybe start to trust the other side again. It would be nice to talk with my brothers again about something besides sports, especially since the Packers suck this year.

To get this back on topic. I think if Arizona marks US 93 as "Future I-11" and keeps it a non-stop expressway with a few bridges over the highway and RIRO ramps near the bridges, they can slowly and economically make US 93 a freeway to Boulder Dam easily. Pierce Ferry Road should probably be an interchange regardless but I agree with your assessment that there are maybe eight legit places for new interchanges. I'd also announce those potential future interchange locations in advance saying any businesses or developments built elsewhere risk being cut off from easy interstate access.