By Sean Holstege | The Arizona Republic
Supporters of a massive freight-rail switching yard near historic Picacho Peak are increasing pressure on the Arizona State Land Department to auction its farmland there to let the proposal happen.
State and U.S. lawmakers urged the state to sell the land between Tucson and Casa Grande in southern Arizona quickly, and a leading Arizona economist issued a report faulting the state’s reasons to proceed cautiously.
The Union Pacific Corp. wants to buy 950 acres of state-owned land to build a 6-mile-long, 75-track-wide classification yard southeast of the peak, on the other side of Interstate 10. The yard would be the largest between Los Angeles and Texas. Itwould improve the freight hauler’s efficiency by enabling it to reconfigure trains from ports for specific cargoes and destinations, including Phoenix and Tucson.
Union Pacific officials say the so-called Red Rock site is the only suitable one in Arizona. The company first expressed interest in the laser-leveled farm in 2006.
Last September, the state land agency released two consultant’s reports that questioned the economic value, environmental consequences and engineering needs of the Red Rock Classification Yard. The reports said that the site was not economically competitive, that jobs benefits had been inflated and that Union Pacific would have to spend many millions of dollars on construction just to ready the site.
The State Land Department’s job is to get the best deal for the best price at the best time, to raise money mostly for education. Sometimes that means auctioning, sometimes waiting.
