Transportation Open Houses March 19, 20 and 21
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Economic Vitality

As the greater Tucson region’s metropolitan planning organization, Pima Association of Governments conducts strategic transportation planning to enable global competitiveness, productivity and efficiency in our region. Supporting the region’s economic vitality through transportation planning is among PAG’s federal planning requirements.

Through its Economic Vitality Advisory Committee, or EVAC, PAG actively identifies how trade, workforce development, land use and tourism activities influence the local economy and considers transportation projects or policies that will help build the region’s economic portfolio.

Projects that support our economic vitality efforts include the Arizona Department of Transportation’s State Route 189 highway project, from Nogales, Arizona, to the border with Mexico–Arizona’s top international trading partner.

As part of Arizona’s key north-south trade corridor, improvements to State Route 189 in Nogales have strong support from the greater Tucson region and well beyond.

At the terminus of State Route 189, the Mariposa Land Port of Entry at the U.S.-Mexico border connects to Mexico Highway 15 which follows the West Coast all the way to Mexico City. On the U.S. side, State Route 189 connects to Interstate 19, which is not only a segment of the CANAMEX Corridor, it is also a segment of the future Interstate 11. Both are High Priority Corridors of the National Highway System.

ADOT’s State Route 189 construction project, from the international border with Mexico to I-19, was completed in late 2021. The new route is expected to increase the volume of commercial vehicles crossing the I-19 and State Route 189 interchange while also addressing mobility, access and safety issues.