Funding from RAISE Grant would modernize Cesar Chavez Boulevard to create a safer road while reducing congestion
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema wrote to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in support of the City of San Luis’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant application.
If granted, the City of San Luis would use the funds to reconstruct five miles of roadway on Cesar Chavez Boulevard, which connects to the San Luis II Commercial Port of Entry along the Arizona-Mexico border and provides access to the highway in Arizona, from its current two lanes to a four-lane divided roadway that will include a shared use path, sidewalks, signalized pedestrian crossing, street lighting, bus bays, transit stops, and shelters – creating a safer, more efficient roadway for all while reducing congestion.
“The City of San Luis’s continued economic growth relies on safe cross border trade and daily, legal border crossings for workers to support its robust agricultural industry. Modernizing Cesar Chavez Boulevard will increase jobs, boost the economy, and improve Arizonans’ quality of life,” said Sinema.
The proposal details how the RAISE Grant funding will support job creation in the community and promote sustainability. Specifically, the Cesar Chavez Boulevard Multimodal Improvements project will add bike lanes and a shared use path to Cesar Chavez Boulevard, encouraging residents to consider other transportation options besides driving. The resulting improved traffic conditions along the corridor will help reduce vehicular emissions and pollution in the area.
The increased roadway capacity will also support continued development of the area, including industrial development that will create new jobs.
The Senator’s bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law – which Sinema wrote, negotiated, and ushered into law – allocated $7.5 billion for the RAISE Grant program over five years.
Click HERE to read Sinema’s letter.