“If I’d Wanted To Sell Diesel Fuel...”
Hi, and welcome to the 2001 Marble Canyon GTS.
Glad you could all make it; the traffic was pretty bad out there today. Here’s the
scoop: there’s no camping allowed, but you can get good rates over at the Motel 6. We
can’t cook out here, but Denny’s has cheap food, and they’re cutting us a
deal. Jane Foster sends her love from Utah - she likes the town, says it’s just like
the old days. Please don’t go near the demolition site, the old Lodge is coming down
with some protests, and a worker was hurt in a blast just yesterday. We’ll be trying
out a little Z-drag exercise at the Ferry later on a sightseeing bus that got stuck in the
shallows trying to turn around. Now onto the program…
Sounds pretty far-fetched doesn’t it? But this is the kind of scene
that just might greet us in Marble Canyon in a few years, if a current plan proposed by
Arizona Governor Fife Symington is approved and implemented. The plan, variously known as
the I-17 corridor, the I-17 extension, the NAFTA Freeway, and a few other choice names too
colorful to print, would see a 4-lane, divided interstate highway wend its way north
across Arizona, using I-17 from Phoenix to Flagstaff, then following Highway 89 north to
either Page or Marble Canyon, to connect up eventually with I-15 in Utah.
The purpose for this highway is to be competitive with our neighboring states
in a bid for the international trucking, shipping and tourism that will be generated
should the North American Free Trade Agreement pass. NAFTA lowers the restrictions on
trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico, and will (the Arizona business
community hopes) spur communication and commerce between these countries. A major
north-south interstate that connects all three countries would be a boon to the states
through which it passes. This we are told by Governor Symington and the members of the
Arizona Town Hall, a coalition of Arizona business people. The idea of an
“extension” of I-17 was suggested by the Town Hall at a meeting at the South Rim
last October.
At the end of his State of the State address, Governor Symington mentioned
the proposal to expand I-17. He spoke of it as a “done deal", although few
people at that time were aware of the plan. At that time, there were two favored routes
for the corridor. One went through Page, across the river near the dam, and then into
western Utah. The second would cross the river near Marble Canyon, follow along the
Vermillion Cliffs and up House Rock Valley, to western Utah. Despite the amount of new
road construction needed, the latter route is shorter and, some say, more economical.
Uh-Oh.
The Arizona Trade Corridor Study is scheduled to be completed and presented
to Congress in September, 1993. It is exploring the possibilities of railways and airways,
and is currently investing almost $200,000 in the Interstate 17 Extension Feasibility
Study. The study is guided by three main questions:
Is there a place to put a road?
What are the environmental impacts of putting a road in?
What will it cost? The bottom line.
In the preliminary stages of the feasibility study, ADOT designated several
broad corridors across Northern Arizona. From 26 possible alternatives they have narrowed
it down to about 11 segments, based on several criteria. These include: existing roadways,
surface land management (what agencies do you have to deal with to get across the land),
topographic features, threatened and endangered species, cultural resources, wilderness
areas, visual criteria (aesthetics), and hazardous material transport.
Dale Buskirk, the ADOT project leader for the I-17 Extension Study, pointed
out that there are several ways this road can be constructed. Existing roadways can be
widened to 4 lanes, or the two lanes already there might become the two one-way lanes of a
4 lane freeway. Or a new road could be built. Because the study is in a preliminary stage,
he could not determine if towns like Cameron or Page would be bypassed, or if the route
would utilize the existing roadways. This is an important issue. When I-40 was built to
bypass the towns of Seligman, Peach Springs and Ash Fork, the towns began to wither.
Former roadside businesses went belly up, and people left to find work elsewhere. Crime
increased and family-owned enterprises gave way to chains of motels and fast-food joints.
James Peshlakai, President of the Cameron Chapter of the Navajo Tribe, says
that he and the town of Cameron would like to see the NAFTA Highway come through. He says
tourism is their only industry anymore, and the increased revenue from trucking and Grand
Canyon traffic would help the community’s stellar unemployment rate. But there is no
guarantee that the road will come anywhere near Cameron, and the community may be left
high and dry. In addition, an official offramp is required to exit a freeway. There is no
guarantee one would be provided for Cameron.
When the I-17 extension was proposed, Mayor Carol Anderson of Kingman rallied
her town around an alternative proposal to run the route along Highway 93 through
Wickenburg to Kingman, and from there to I-15 at Las Vegas. This proposal has finally
begun to be taken seriously by ADOT and the AZ Trade Corridor Survey. They have initiated
a US 93 Development Study to determine the feasibility of this option.
Roger Clark and the Grand Canyon Trust sent a letter to Governor Symington at
the outset of this issue, outlining some important considerations regarding the route
chosen for this corridor.
Which route is the safest and most dependable with respect to
weather?
Which route is the most energy efficient in terms of distance and grade?
Crossing the high elevations of the Colorado Plateau in winter is risky
business. The Kingman route stays at lower elevations and bears fewer hazards. Coming up
onto the Plateau increases fuel consumption, and the route is a less direct connection to
I-15 than the Kingman alternative.
Which route best serves Arizona’s multiple economic needs, especially
those of rural communities?
Kingman is already a hub for interstate trucking. Wickenburg mayor Dallas
Gant says the town wants this route, as it appears there will be no need to bypass the
community. The connection at Las Vegas could bring economic help to the small communities
in Nevada and southwestern Utah. By comparison, many of the communities on the Marble
Platform are extremely opposed to this road. Both Jane Foster of Marble Canyon and Roger
Dewitz of Cliff Dwellers have no desire to see what would happen to the land and their
lives if a freeway passed through their front yards.
In contrast, Mayor Gary Scaramazzo of Page would like to see the road come
through their town. He says they need the improved road to handle the tourism they already
have. A shipping route would make movement of goods and services into Page easier. This
would help develop a stronger economy based on light industry instead of tourism.
Which route would minimize negative impacts to air quality, natural
and cultural resources, and other public resource values?
Grand Canyon had over 4 million visitors last year. This year it is expected
to receive 5 million. Those who have visited the rim lately know that the park cannot
handle the number of tourists it currently receives, much less the additional number that
would be attracted by a new and improved corridor. Additional traffic would increase air
pollution, and likely spur more air traffic. If the highway is built across the Navajo
Reservation, and Marble Canyon and up House Rock Valley, it will carve through one of the
most incredible landscapes on earth. The BLM has recently designated the Vermillion Cliffs
as a wilderness area. It makes no sense to put an interstate through the region.
The US 93 route requires fewer miles of new construction to widen the road
between Wickenburg and I-40. The route across the Colorado River at Sugarloaf Mountain has
been designated by BuRec, the NPS and the Arizona and Nevada Highway Departments.
According to Mayor Anderson of Kingman, this route has less impact on the land than either
of the other choices, although the environmental impacts still need to be considered
carefully.
Although attention has recently been shifting from the I-17 route to Highway
93, Mayor Anderson says she’s not going to hold her breath. Why? The I-17 Extension
Survey is on a “fast track”; it is scheduled to be completed by mid-summer, for
presentation to the Federal Highway Administration. The city council of Flagstaff and many
members of the local business community are overwhelmingly in support of the I-17
Extension, presumably because of the business it would generate. What kind of business?
More truck stops, fast food restaurants, perhaps some clearing houses and light
manufacturing. Many roadside businesses in Flagstaff, Cameron and Page will be lost. Do we
want this? And do we want a four lane freeway blasting across northern Arizona, curling
around the base of the Echo Cliffs? Do we want to see a third bridge built just downstream
of the as-yet-unbuilt second bridge across Marble Canyon? We should consider what that
traffic will do to the quality and character of the region – its greatest assets.
US 93 to Kingman and Las Vegas seems to be a safe and sane alternative to the
I-17 Extension. It will keep the trade corridor within the state, which will benefit all
of Arizona in the long run. Flagstaff has a healthy growth rate, and the Grand Canyon and
Lake Powell will continue to attract tourists to Cameron and Page until they erode to the
sea (or Lake Mead). The fragile desert and riparian ecosystems which we love and work so
hard to protect could be in jeopardy. Trucking is not an appropriate economic base for a
region that makes most of its living from visitation to natural and wild places. Perhaps
other alternatives can be explored for those communities that want to augment the tourist
industry with something more meaningful. We should consider all the options.
There’s still a lot to be decided. We’re not even sure NAFTA will
pass. But they have been poking around in the back yard, checking out the Colorado Plateau
and Marble Canyon as possibilities. Even if US 93 is developed, they might still come back
to the Marble Canyon-Page option in the future, according to Dale Buskirk. It could
happen. Be aware! Just wanted you all to know.
NOW IS THE TIME TO DO SOMETHING. If you live in Arizona, or
any state other than Utah, please address your comments to:
The Honorable Fife Symington
Governor of Arizona
1700 W. Washington, 9th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85007
AND:
Flagstaff City Council
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
If you’re hanging out in Utah, please write your governor, and local
representatives.
Christa Sadler
