Pinal County leaders have plans in the works for 20 years of transportation projects, but first they’ll need voters to approve a half-cent sales-tax increase in the fall.
“Funding has obviously been cut by the federal government exponentially and there hasn’t been any kind of a gas tax increase,” said Pinal County Planning Supervisor Andy Smith.
Arizona last increased its gas tax to 18 cents in 1991, and the federal gas tax hasn’t changed since 1993.
The county reports it’s grown more than 200 percent in the last 24 years.
To keep roads up, county leaders have proposed a regional transportation plan with improvements and expansions on roads such as State Route 347 or a North South Corridor between Eloy and Apache Junction.
Smith said the roads are meant to interconnect the county’s towns and link them to Maricopa and Pima counties.
A half-cent sales tax would last for twenty years and is expected to generate $650 million for specified road projects.
The county will host informational meetings where residents can give feedback through the first week in April.
Comments can also be submitted online.