PRESCOTT - The direction that local officials gave earlier this year on the Chino Valley extension road plans was explicit: No Verde River crossing.
But that local position apparently did not make it all the way to the state level.
The recent draft of the Arizona Department of Transportation's Building a Quality Arizona (BQAZ) study reportedly retained the Verde River crossing that caused an uproar among river advocates in late 2008/early 2009.
The maps in the state study were in contrast to the action that the local transportation-planning group, the Central Yavapai Metropolitan Planning Organization (CYMPO), took in January 2009, eliminating the option that would have involved a bridge across the Verde near its Paulden-area headwaters.
Yavapai County Assistant Public Works Director Mike Willett explained that he recently discovered the discrepancy on the state study's website.
That prompted a special CYMPO meeting on Wednesday, during which the executive board reaffirmed its earlier direction on the Verde crossing.
Willett said the appearance of the Verde River crossing on the state maps raised a question about whether "we need to reinforce the previous (CYMPO) action."
CYMPO board members agreed that they should send the state a reminder.
"How did this picture live beyond our decision?" asked Bill Feldmeier, a member of both the CYMPO board and the State Transportation Board. He added: "So a second clear message needs to be sent?"
Willett said that although he had earlier suggested removal of the crossing to the organizers of the Building a Quality Arizona study, the state maps did not reflect the change.
"By your action today, you'll send a clear message," Willett told the CYMPO board.
That prompted Yavapai County Supervisor and CYMPO board member Carol Springer to move that the state "remove the proposed Verde River crossing from all BQAZ maps."
CYMPO's special meeting this week was in advance of an upcoming presentation of the draft Building a Quality Arizona study to the State Transportation Board.
The statewide BQAZ study kicked off in May 2007 to do long-range transportation planning for the state through the year 2050.
The idea for the Verde River crossing first surfaced during a 2008-09 CYMPO corridor study for the Chino Valley extension road - a north-south route northeast of Chino Valley that would run parallel to Highway 89.
Although consultants originally suggested a Verde River crossing as one alternative route, the CYMPO board later agreed that the route rather should terminate at Highway 89 near Road 5/Road 6 North - miles south of the Verde-crossing option.
This week, Magill Weber of the Nature Conservancy told the CYMPO board that the continued appearance of the Verde River crossing on state maps was "a major concern for us." She added: "We strongly encourage you to consider (the alternate route)."
Other river advocacy groups and nearly residents also have pushed for the elimination of the Verde River crossing.
Reader Comments
Posted: Friday, December 18, 2009
Article comment by:
tom
CYMPO does not want the road there for one reason. There developer friends can not build along it. Portions along the road could be turned into parks and trails. Look at Glen canyon in Colorado they save the area built the road though it which saved money and made a recreation area for all not just a few on horses. Do what is best for the tax payer to build the road for less and make resreation area for all to use. How much land would be given for the road by the federal goverment instead of paying the ranchers. It is all about money to the rancher/developers not the river.
