TUCSON, AZ (April 23 2026) — The Arizona Department of Transportation has opened the public comment period for its tentative 2027–2031 Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program, giving local governments, business groups, and transportation stakeholders an opportunity to weigh in on priority highway and infrastructure needs before the plan is finalized. ADOT released the tentative program on March 2, with comments due by 5 p.m. Friday, May 22, 2026. The State Transportation Board is scheduled to consider the final program at its June 19, 2026, meeting.
For Southern Arizona, the comment period offers an important opportunity to reinforce the importance of border trade infrastructure in Nogales while also watching how Pima County’s next round of transportation priorities takes shape. ADOT said the tentative statewide five-year program totals $9.85 billion for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. Of that, $4.1 billion is allocated to projects in Greater Arizona outside Maricopa and Pima counties, including $2.7 billion for pavement and bridge preservation, $431 million for capacity expansion, and $939 million for safety, efficiency, and functionality improvements such as intersection upgrades, smart technologies, rest areas, and port-of-entry improvements.
The Nogales Santa Cruz County Port Authority has prepared draft comments for submission to ADOT, emphasizing that Nogales remains a state and national asset whose infrastructure needs extend far beyond the local market. According to the Port Authority, the comments under review by its board and key stakeholders highlight priorities including State Route 189, Interstate 19 interchanges, and broader port connectivity, while stressing the return on investment these projects deliver through trade, freight movement, and tourism.
That argument aligns with the broader purpose of the ADOT plan. Supporters of continued investment in the Nogales corridor contend that improvements there not only benefit border communities but also strengthen one of Arizona’s most important international trade gateways and support economic activity statewide.
There is also a developing Southern Arizona angle beyond Nogales. For Pima County, the tentative program currently includes $615 million in projects developed in collaboration with the Pima Association of Governments, but ADOT says additional details are still forthcoming. According to the agency, PAG is updating revenue forecasts, project cost estimates, sequencing, and possible modifications to its Transportation Improvement Program following the recent RTA Next election, with further updates expected later this spring or summer.
That means Pima County is included in the statewide framework, but many of the region’s next-step transportation priorities are still being refined. Unlike some Greater Arizona corridor investments that are already more clearly defined in the tentative plan, Pima County’s project list remains in transition, leaving room for local governments, business organizations, and regional stakeholders to make their case during the public review process.
ADOT said the tentative plan was developed in coordination with local governments, regional planning organizations, and tribal partners using federal and state transportation dollars along with other funding sources. The agency also noted that Maricopa and Pima counties are handled differently from the rest of the state because both regions have voter-approved transportation sales taxes that support major local and regional improvements.
Public comments can be submitted through ADOT’s online form at azdot.gov/5yearcomments, by email to [email protected], by phone at 855-712-8530, or by mail to ADOT Communications in Phoenix. Comments may also be made in person or virtually at the State Transportation Board’s public hearing at 9 a.m. Friday, May 15, in Cameron, Arizona. The tentative program and project dashboard are available online for review.
For Nogales stakeholders, the message is that border infrastructure remains a statewide economic priority. For Pima County, the comment period offers a chance to influence a regional project list that is still evolving. In both cases, the next several weeks will help shape how transportation dollars are allocated across Southern Arizona in the years ahead.