By Ryan Randazzo || Arizona Republic
Arizona will receive $76.5 million to build electric-vehicle charging stations and infrastructure in the state, and is among the first 34 states to get approval for its plans for the money, the Federal Highway Administration said this week.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that Congress passed last year included money for vehicle charging, and states submitted plans for how they would use the funds. Arizona’s proposal was handled by the Arizona Department of Transportation.
“When the Infrastructure bill was passed and this program was created and made available, we got on it immediately here at ADOT,” spokesman Doug Nick said Friday.
“This is a significant amount of money. At ADOT, we know through MVD registrations there are increasing numbers of electric vehicles. It is easily the most popular alternative fuel and it’s only growing.”
Arizona had more than 58,000 electric-vehicle registrations in the last fiscal year, he said.
The announcement means that Arizona will get the first $11 million of its funding to cover the work it’s already doing and another $16 million in October, Nick said.
“The idea is that we will have no more than 50 miles between ports on any of the interstates in Arizona,” said Nick, adding that the plan also will seek to find ideal locations for ports on other roads as well.
ADOT still is gathering public input on how the funds should get spent, with a public survey and meetings anticipated later this year.
