By Arizona Daily Star
The Pima County Board of Supervisors has asked Gov. Katie Hobbs to re-think her hands-off stance on the proposed route for Interstate 11 near Tucson.
Supervisors voted 4-1 last week for a resolution to oppose an interstate route that it says would “go through the Avra Valley, which would put a huge gash through the Sonoran Desert, add hordes of noisy pollution-spewing cars and trucks, promote thirsty and energy-consuming new commercial and residential development while destroying wildlife habitat and severing wildlife-movement corridors.”
The board has “formally opposed” a highway route through Avra Valley “and other sensitive areas” since 2007, most recently in 2021, the resolution reads.
The route that the Arizona Department of Transportation recommends parts ways with I-19 north of Green Valley, with the road then heading west around Tohono O’odham land near San Xavier before it cuts north adjacent to Tucson Mountain Park and Saguaro National Park. It also runs directly through what’s known as the Tucson Mitigation Corridor, as well as Avra Valley.
