This study focuses in the area surrounding the municipalities of: Town of Pima, City of Thatcher and City of Safford. The junction of the two major state routes, US 191 and US 70 is located in the heart of these communities and serves as major arterials for local travelers. Parsons Brinckerhoff has been commissioned by ADOT to perform this preliminary assessment for the development of an alternate route through the Thatcher/Safford/Pima area.

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.

In 1992, Graham County conducted a transportation study for the Gila Valley Region. This study prepared a long-range transportation plan and a transportation improvement program. Many of the improvements have been completed. The purpose of this study is to update the 1992 transportation plan and to address the current issues within the area.

The Graham County, Safford, Thatcher, Pima Small Area Transportation Study was initiated by Graham County, in conjunction with the Arizona Department of Transportation, to develop a countywide, long-range multimodal transportation plan for this growing rural Arizona community. The project sponsors selected the PB Americas team to conduct this study under the direction of a Technical Advisory Committee, which included representatives from Graham County, City of Safford, Town of Thatcher, Town of Pima, Southeastern Arizona Governments Organization, and ADOT.