Voters in Maricopa County approved a half-cent sales tax measure in November that funds transportation improvements for 20 years.
Proposition 479 is estimated to generate more than $14 billion, which will support Maricopa Association of Governments’ (MAG’s) $28 billion Regional Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Investment Plan.
The plan includes critical projects such as the construction of state routes in the southwest and southeast portions of the Phoenix metro region and needed improvements to Interstates 10 and 17.
Among the improvements planned in Prop. 479 are:
- 331 new freeway/highway lane miles
- 134 new high occupancy vehicle lane miles
- 1,000 new or improved arterial lane miles
- More than 28 miles of bus rapid transit
Maricopa voters passed the initial dedicated sales tax for transportation improvements in 1985, which included funding for the Phoenix-area freeway loop system, building a regional transit system, and expanding the arterial grid street network.
The MAG planning area includes 27 cities and towns, three native nations, Maricopa County, portions of Pinal County, and the Arizona Department of Transportation.