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.

“What about the water?” was one of the questions Morrison Institute for Public Policy asked in its 2008 study, "Megapolitan: Arizona’s Sun Corridor". That report looked at the potential growth of the Sun Corridor as Tucson and Phoenix merge into one continuous area for economic and demographic purposes.

With its brief review of the water situation in urban Arizona, "Megapolitan" left a number of questions unanswered. This report will consider questions like these in more detail in order to examine the Sun Corridor’s water future. This topic has received less sophisticated public discussion than might be expected in a desert state. Arizona’s professional water managers feel they are relatively well prepared for the future and would like to be left alone to do their job. Elected officials and economic-development professionals have sometimes avoided discussing water for fear of reinforcing a negative view of Arizona. This report seeks to contribute to this understanding, and to a more open and informed conversation about the relationship of water and future growth.