While official groundbreaking ceremony was taking place Tuesday for the new Aerospace Parkway on Tucson’s South Side, Raytheon Tucson announced $763.5 million in new bookings for the Tucson missile systems facility.
Dr. Taylor Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems’ President said, "We make missiles and we never want anything to go wrong, but if something does go wrong we need a buffer zone."
Pima County officials say the 4.5-mile, $12.7 million road project will be part of a large, multi-stage economic development plan that could help turn Tucson into a hub for regional transportation and for the aerospace industry.
The new road will replace Hughes Access Road, which sits one-half mile to the north. That has been too close for comfort for Raytheon Missile Systems.
Lawrence noted that when billionaire Howard Hughes first bought the airport-area property 60 years ago, it was “out away from the city with wide-open spaces so we could build missiles with a nice buffer zone around it. But that open space is rapidly eroding. The development around our airport site is a concern, because we need to have minimum distances to maintain a safe operating environment.”
State leaders including Governor Doug Ducey, Senator John McCain and Representative Martha McSally said that the project will help not just Arizona, but the country. "It's not only a great day for southern Arizona but a great day for America," Sen. McCain said. "Because with this work that we've accomplished today -- we will better be able to defend America."
Other aspects of the transportation corridor package, called the Sonoran Corridor, include a proposed second runway at Tucson International Airport and an extension of the rail line that connects Tucson and Nogales to intersect with Union Pacific's main east/west route. Planners say the new road will give the Tucson International Airport the space for a new runway, the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing will get more space, and Raytheon Missile Systems will be able to expand. Phase two will be to connect I-10 with I-19, the Port of Tucson and U of A Science and Technology Park.
“This is really the first step, the road," said Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckleberry. "The next steps are the second runway and additional rail access, and really creating a logistics center in the vicinity of the Tucson International Airport that is the logistics center for the southwestern United States.”
Huckleberry said the new road may help entice other aerospace companies to join Raytheon and set up shop along Aerospace Parkway.
Money for the project is coming from the Pima County Regional Transportation Authority.