One in a series of long-range transportation planning studies being conducted by the Maricopa County Department of Transportation to assess the ultimate corridor footprint requirements to enable consistent implementation across multiple jurisdictions. The study area for this project includes Peoria Avenue from the future Jackrabbit Trail Parkway alignment to Dysart Road (Peoria Avenue Corridor). The study area generally encompasses a two-mile wide corridor centered on the existing Peoria Avenue.

The Arizona Department of Transportation has been involved with railroad planning since 1976, with its first State Rail Plan Update issued in 1978. The most recent report, the 2000 Arizona State Rail Plan Update was an important starting point for this Inventory and Assessment in that the seven-year-old study provides the description and inventory of Arizona railroads as they existed at that time. There have been a number of important changes over the intervening years, and these are reflected in this 2007 Inventory and Assessment. In addition to the 2000 State Rail Plan Update, RLBA made use of the 2003 Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) High-Capacity Transit Study and the 1998 Arizona High Speed Rail Feasibility Study. The information contained in this report was gathered from a number of sources, including the railroads themselves, ADOT, the Arizona Corporation Commission, MAG and numerous Arizona officials. A listing of persons who contributed to this Railroad Inventory and Assessment is provided under “Acknowledgements” inside the front cover. Information in this report also was obtained from the Association of American Railroads and from RLBA’s extensive data banks.

Through the Planning Assistance for Rural Areas program, the Arizona Department of Transportation and the City of Yuma cooperatively conducted the Yuma Expressway Corridor Study to develop a preliminary assessment and feasibility of a proposed corridor alignment along the south and western portions of the City of Yuma. Improvements to this corridor would benefit the region by addressing a number of different customers traveling around and through the region.

The purpose of the Verde Valley Multimodal Transportation Study is to develop a long-range regional transportation plan to guide the implementation of transportation improvements on the roads of regional significance in the Verde Valley, including I-17, State Routes, and roads on the County Regional Road System. This Study is an update of the 1999 Verde Valley Transportation Study Update.