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.

The Planning Assistance for Rural Areas program is sponsored by the Arizona Department of Transportation Multimodal Planning Division, and provides federal funds for the purpose of conducting transportation planning studies. Lake Havasu City first participated in another ADOT program for local governments, the Small Area Transportation Study program, in 1991. Under the SATS program the Lake Havasu City government successfully developed a citywide roadway plan, and then took part in the SATS program to update the plan in 1997 and 2005. The PARA program is flexible and allows for studies of neighborhoods or sub-areas within jurisdictions. The subarea program provision made it possible for the City to apply for and receive PARA funding for the North Havasu Study Area.

The purpose of the SR-80 and US-191 Oversize Load Study is to identify roadway conditions that restrict travel by oversize vehicles on the SR-80 and US-191 study routes. The study also recommends infrastructure and related improvements that will eliminate or mitigate restrictions to the safe and efficient flow of oversize vehicles. Restrictions on I-10, as well as destinations in the SouthEastern Arizona Governments Association (SEAGO) region and in Mexico, require oversize vehicles to use SR-80 and US-191 in Cochise County in southeastern Arizona. In addition, restrictions on SR-80 and US-191 result in detours onto county roads that are not designed to accommodate oversize vehicles. As a result, the county roads experience damage to pavement and infrastructure and disruption of traffic flow.