Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: Rep. Juan Ciscomani has earmarked $2.5 million for a new street and stoplight connecting Highway 70 to the new Pima High School under construction. Currently, the only access to the high school is from East Center Street to the north.
By Jon Johnson
jonjohnsonnews@gmail.com
PIMA – Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R, CD-6) is again looking to help fund necessary infrastructure improvements to the town of Pima by bringing $2.5 million in federal funding to construct a new street connecting U.S. Highway 70 to the new Pima High School under construction. The funding includes the cost and installation of a new traffic light at the intersection of U.S. Highway 70 and 200 South.
Ciscomani previously earmarked $2 million in funding for Pima’s new fire station. That funding was approved in March when the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee passed a package that includes $26 million in projects for Southern Arizona. Out of those 13 projects pressed by Ciscomani and approved by the Committee, three are going to Graham and Greenlee counties with the $2 million for Pima’s fire station; $1.3 million for the Graham County Gila River Linear Park and Trail Project, and $274,00 for the town of Duncan and Hunter Estates Drainage Mitigation and Design in Duncan. Ciscomani also got $859,000 for Northern Cochise County Community Hospital in Willcox.
Ciscomani sits on the Appropriations Committee and has again included a Pima project in his list for potential funding if passed by the committee.
Narrowed from roughly 65 applications to 15, funding for the new street into the high school and stop light is one of the remaining projects on his list for fiscal year 2025. Other local projects Ciscomani is moving forward with include roughly $2.2 million to the town of Duncan to pave approximately 4,060 feet on Main Street and High Street, and $1.2 million to Graham County to replace aging water lines and utilize reclaimed water provided by the city of Safford. The last new pavement project in Duncan was in 1978.
“The dedication that he’s shown to Pima after securing $2 million for the fire department last year and to take on this project again out of all the many projects that he received just blows me away,” said Pima Town Manager Vernon Batty.
The new street will connect Pima’s new $34 million high school with Highway 70 and will have turning lanes and, most likely, traffic lights with turn arrows. Currently, the only access to the high school is from the north via Center Street, which connects to Highway 70 west of the Dollar General store. The first road to the east of the school construction area off East Center is 600 East.
The Arizona Department of Transportation will decide if a traffic light is necessary at the newly formed intersection heading into the school off Highway 70, but it is likely and the funding covers the cost of the traffic light and installation.
The new high school is currently under construction with a tentative completion date in June, with an opening to all students for the Fall 2025 school year. However, due to the funding cycle, it is not believed the new connecting street and stoplight will be completed in time for the school’s opening.
The site is nearly double the size of the current high school facility and will be a 67,000-square-foot campus.The ballfields, including baseball, softball, football, and two practice fields, will be located on the northern end of the property off East Center Street, while the gymnasium will be on the southern end near the highway.The proposed football stadium features 2,890 “Home” seats and 1,496 “Visitor” seats, with the home stands facing east and the visitor seats facing west.
“I know that this is just one step in the process and nothing is guaranteed but his track record speaks for itself and the fact that he’s on the Appropriations Committee shows that he’s been very adept at navigating Washington and securing funds for our district.”
Ciscomani will be in Graham County on Wednesday, where he will be the Keynote Speaker at the Graham County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Luncheon at Manor 415 at noon and will attend the State of Economic Development hosted by the Graham Economic Partnership from 1:30 – 3 p.m. at the Safford City-Graham County Library.
