In the fall of 2007, Arizona’s Councils of Governments and Metropolitan Planning Organizations, in cooperation with the Arizona Department of Transportation, launched a new phase in an ambitious, long-range statewide planning process known as Building a Quality Arizona or bqAZ. Working in collaboration with regional transportation planning entities, transit organizations, tribal governments, land management agencies, conservation groups, business and community leaders, and Governor Napolitano’s Growth Cabinet, ADOT and local/regional leaders embarked on development of a Statewide Transportation Planning Framework that formulated and evaluated multimodal transportation improvements. ADOT’s Multimodal Planning Division and Communication and Community Partnerships Division jointly led the Statewide Framework planning process.

The purpose of this study was to develop a multi-modal transportation plan that outlines the region’s transportation priority projects and provides a plan for ultimate implementation. The transportation study was focused around identifying regional mobility needs that can accommodate the anticipated future population and employment growth. This transportation study is a joint effort of Navajo County, the City of Holbrook, the City of Winslow and the Arizona Department of Transportation to develop multi-modal transportation recommendations for the study area, Heber-Overgaard, Holbrook and Winslow over a 20-year planning horizon.

The proposed Meridian Road Corridor Study is needed to support the continuing development and growth, occurring and anticipated, in the East Mesa, West Apache Junction, and within Pinal County. The purpose of the Meridian Road Corridor Study is to document conditions along the existing roadway and to develop alternatives that will increase the safety and future level of service of Meridian Road. This study will also establish a roadway footprint and develop the ultimate right‐of‐way requirement for the corridor. Finally, the study will be utilized as a guide for local agencies and future development along the corridor. The study area for the Meridian Road Corridor Study is approximately 13 miles in length.

The Sahuarita/El Toro Corridor Study is a joint effort by the Town of Sahuarita and the Arizona Department of Transportation. The purpose of the study is to assess the feasibility of a transportation corridor that will provide adequate capacity for the potential future growth of the Town of Sahuarita and surrounding areas as well as increase local and regional connectivity in Pima County. The study is being funded by Federal Highway Administration’s State Planning and Research Program and administered through ADOT’s Multimodal Planning Division. In the completed Town of Sahuarita Transportation Study, it was recommended that El Toro Rd be constructed as a six-lane parkway to alleviate the severely congested principal thoroughfares due to the future growth identified in that study.

A statement of the community vision for the 525-square-mile Flagstaff Metropolitan Planning Organization (FMPO) area, which extends west-to-east from Bellemont to Winona, and south-to-north from Kachina Village/Mountainaire to north of the San Francisco Peaks. It is the general plan for the City of Flagstaff, and in county areas, works in conjunction with the Coconino County Comprehensive Plan.

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 Southern Greenlee County Trails Study identified a framework of trails that could be developed to attract modern-day adventurers and naturalists to explore the rich natural and cultural heritage of Greenlee County. The study identifies trails that Greenlee County residents can use for recreation, enabling them to engage in healthy life choices with limited bike-car or pedestrian-car conflicts. Long dependent on mining as its economic base, this trails plan is another step Greenlee County is taking to diversify its economy by increasing tourism.