Maricopa Mayor Nancy Smith attends an Arizona State Transportation Board public hearing in Bullhead City, Ariz. May 16, 2025. [submitted]
State Route 347 may still be a contender for the Arizona Department of Transportation’s coveted five-year construction program, but obstacles remain in the way.
That was the consensus during yesterday’s State Transportation Board meeting in Bullhead City, where board members heard public pleas to widen the state highway and also reviewed a funding scenario to help move the project along.
ADOT Division Director Matt Maul suggested number crunching and shifting around other projects could make way for SR 347 to officially enter the five-year program — under a list of stipulations, that is, because of the “very limited funding” provided for infrastructure projects.
“There’s very little flexibility to move expansion projects around to accommodate State Route 347 because several of them have funding,” Maul said.
The solution? Deferring the $109 million improvements slated for State Route 260 east of Payson by two years. The improvements included widening the state highway, constructing wildlife crossovers and replacing guardrails.
“This leaves only one option, which is to defer the State Route 260 Lion Springs expansion currently programmed for construction in fiscal years 2026 through 2028 by two years,” Maul said.
The state highway runs between Payson and Heber-Overgaard, and heavy usage during weekends, holidays and the summer months have resulted in heavy traffic congestion for a tiny Star Valley community.
It’s a scenario Sen. Lauren Kuby (D-Tempe) was concerned about when discussing SR 347 funding legislation earlier this year.
When defending her lone no vote on Senate Bill 1617 in February, Kuby told InMaricopa she was afraid the funding would allow SR 347 projects to “leapfrog ahead” other infrastructure projects already lined up in ADOT’s five-year plan.
This is assuming current funding remains in place, the project stays on schedule and within budget and there is no impact to pavement preservation projects.
However, members of the Maricopa City Council who attended the Bullhead City meeting said they were swayed by the rising support. The council voted May 6 to pass a new sales tax to fund portions of the SR 347 improvements and authorized an intergovernmental agreement with ADOT ensuring that any funds provided to ADOT by the city would be used exclusively for the SR 347 widening project.
Mayor Nancy Smith immediately following yesterday’s meeting called for Maricopa residents to continue sending letters asking ADOT to add the widening project to the five-year program.
Councilmember Vincent Manfredi echoed this sentiment.
“The people of Maricopa need to be heard …
