“The efficient flow of commerce in Arizona drives our state’s economic vitality,” says Arizona DOT Director Halikowski, who initially proposed the effort. “This agreement with our transportation partners in California, New Mexico and Texas will work to build a reliable, friction-free I-10 corridor to support Arizona’s businesses and export industries. We want to see the day when a truck or a non-commercial vehicle can travel the 1,700 miles between Los Angeles ports and Houston ports – safely, efficiently and without delay.”
A similar coalition formed by the 15 states through which I-95 travels on the east coast served as the model for the I-10 Corridor Coalition.
Officials say I-10 is the primary trucking route from the Port of Long Beach connecting the “trillion-dollar markets” of Southern California and central Texas, emphasizing the four-state region combined would measure as the 10th largest economy in the world.
The plan calls for the “transportation expertise of the states collectively” be used to share resources, perform joint testing and provide economies of scale. This also includes applying best practices to “improve safety and efficiency along the corridor, improve freight movement, expand and coordinate the use of technology along the corridor and promote cooperative planning.”
Signing the agreement earlier this month in addition to Halikowski were James Bass, executive director of the Texas DOT, Tom Church, cabinet secretary of the New Mexico DOT, and Malcolm Dougherty, California Department of Transportation director.
