Phoenix lawmaker pushes Interstate 11 plan through Yuma area, amid debate

A Phoenix Republican’s push to advance Interstate 11 has put Yuma County at the center of a bigger fight over growth, freight and who pays for a highway that could reshape land use across western Arizona.

Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, proposed asking the Federal Highway Administration to split off the Casa Grande-to-Wickenburg segment for separate approval, a move he said could revive planning after litigation stalled work on the Casa Grande-to-Nogales stretch. The broader I-11 concept is intended to run north and south through Nogales, Tucson, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Reno, and supporters say the corridor could strengthen trade and commerce across the West.

The Arizona Department of Transportation’s final Tier 1 environmental review covered a 280-mile corridor from Nogales to Wickenburg after five years of study, technical analysis and public input. The study area is described as a 2,000-foot-wide swath of land, but the next round of more detailed Tier 2 studies has not been funded or programmed. That leaves a wide band of uncertainty for communities and property owners along the route while the exact freeway centerline remains unresolved.

The project also remains tied up in environmental conflict. In January 2025, the Federal Highway Administration agreed to reevaluate the environmental impact statement and pause planning after a lawsuit. Conservation groups have argued for years that the route threatens desert habitat and sensitive species in the Sonoran Desert.

Opponents in the Legislature say the price tag is too steep. Sen. Brian Fernandez of Yuma and Sen. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe, pointed to an estimated $3.1 billion to $7.3 billion cost for the Nogales-to-Wickenburg stretch, while Fernandez said Arizona’s 18-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax has not been raised since 1990. Their argument is straightforward: the state is struggling to maintain existing roads before it takes on a new interstate.

For Yuma County, the stakes are more local than symbolic. The county’s estimated population was 220,310 in July 2024, and 66.1% of residents were Hispanic or Latino. The Greater Yuma Port Authority says the San Luis II commercial port of entry is a key gateway for global trade and multimodal transportation, and Greater Yuma economic-development materials say San Luis is only 23 miles from Yuma and built for commercial truck traffic and specialized cargo.

That is why the debate reaches beyond Phoenix or Tucson. If I-11 moves ahead, businesses tied to freight movement and border commerce could gain from a faster north-south corridor, especially as the I-11 Coalition says the route is meant to connect metropolitan areas with more than 9 million people. But local residents, freight operators and Yuma County Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority planners will also be watching for traffic shifts, development pressure and property impacts that could land long before any pavement is poured.