September 22, 2014

Las Vegas, NV – Today Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s First Congressional District wrote to the leadership of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and Highways & Transit Subcommittee advocating for the future Interstate 11 (I-11) in the next multi-year transportation authorization bill. Titus, joined by the House members from the Nevada and Arizona Congressional Delegations, urged Committee leadership to prioritize projects of national significance, like I-11, that will have an enormous economic impact on regions of the country. As the only member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee from the State of Nevada, Congresswoman Titus is leading this effort for the Delegation among her Committee colleagues.

“I-11 holds great promise for our region’s future growth. As our Committee works towards crafting the next transportation reauthorization bill next year, I will continue to advocate for programs that will make I-11 competitive for the limited resources available for transportation infrastructure. With corridor planning and I-11 projects such as the O’Callaghan-Tillman Bridge and Boulder City Bypass either completed or well underway, it is important to keep I-11 a priority for the Committee as we move forward with the authorization.”

In 2012, Congress passed Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), a two year authorization bill that included a federal designation for a future I-11 between the Congresswoman’s Congressional District in Las Vegas and Phoenix, Arizona. In April of this year Congresswoman Titus wrote to Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval to advocate for solar panels to be installed along the Nevada portion of I-11 as part of an effort to create a solar highway. Las Vegas and Phoenix remain two of the last remaining neighboring, major metropolitan areas not connected by an interstate.

Full text of the letter can be read here:

Dear Chairman Shuster, Chairman Petri, Ranking Member Rahall and Ranking Member Norton:

We, the undersigned members of the Arizona and Nevada Congressional Delegations, and members of the Congressional Interstate 11 Caucus, are writing to urge your support for Interstate 11 (I-11) in long-term transportation reauthorization legislation.   
 
Interstate 11 would create a north-south multi-use corridor linking the Intermountain West states with international and domestic markets and creating complete commerce connectivity between the United States, Mexico and Canada, enabling expanded trade relations between Latin America and the entire economy of the Southwestern United States.    
The Southwest Triangle – Southern California, the Arizona Sun Corridor, Southern Nevada and the greater Mojave region - is a rapidly expanding mega-region with the largest absence of surface transportation infrastructure compared to other U.S. mega-regions, despite a population growth rate that is double the cumulative rate in the United States.  Arizona and Nevada were the two fastest growing states during the last decade, and Phoenix and Las Vegas are the only two metropolitan areas of more than one million in population not connected by an interstate.  
 
As you know, MAP-21 provided a Congressional designation for the initial corridor between Phoenix and Las Vegas; as planning in both Arizona and Nevada has continued, the two states are proposing to modify that designation. The revised corridor would stretch from the United States-Mexico border through Arizona and Nevada, expanding international trade opportunities not only for our two states, but for the entire Mountain West. We have provided committee staff with language to codify this designation, and ask for its inclusion in the bill.

As the Committee continues its work on a long-term authorization bill, we would also ask that you explore ways to prioritize projects, such as I-11, that provide major, broad-based economic benefits to entire regions and the nation.  
 
We specifically support programs, such as those targeting projects of national significance, that provide direct linkage for national and international trade corridors and their high-value impact on job creation, commerce, global competitiveness and economic vitality. We also recognize and appreciate efforts to study and improve the nation’s freight system.  To that end, we believe a dedicated freight program could potentially provide opportunities to study and develop valuable freight corridors throughout the country, including I-11 and the Intermountain West corridor.  
 
We thank you in advance for your consideration and stand ready to work with you and your staff to develop language that will enable development of this and other critical, nationally significant projects to enhance job creation, economic competitiveness and social mobility in the United States.    
 
Sincerely,

Members of the Nevada and Arizona Congressional Delegations