10/8/2009 11:55:00 PM McGuireville rest area to be closed for budget cuts ADOT marks 13 for closure Oct. 19
VVN/Raquel Hendrickson
A Veterans Memorial was placed at the McGuireville rest area two years ago and the new flagpole was raised last year.
Arizona Department of Transportation
Rest areas to close
Mowhawk, I-8, 12 miles to Dateland; 26 miles to Wellton
Bouse Wash, I-10, 7 miles to Vicksburg; 62 miles to Buckeye
Ehrenberg, I-10, 4 miles to Blythe, Calif,; 13 miles to Ehrenberg
Sacaton, I-10, 3 miles to Casa Grande
San Simon, 20 miles to rest area near Lordsburg, N.M.; 9 miles from
westbound rest area to San Simon
McGuireville, I-17, 10 miles to Camp Verde; 43 miles to Flagstaff
Canoa Ranch, I-19, 10 miles to Green Valley
Haviland, I-40, 22 miles to Topock; 28 miles to Kingman
Meteor Crater, I-40, 17 miles to Winslow; 34 miles to Flagstaff
Parks, I-40, 13 miles to Flagstaff
Mazatal*, SR 87, 12 miles to Payson
Salt River Canyon*, US 60, 25 miles to Globe
Wickenburg/Hassayampa, US 60, 6 miles to Wickenburg
* Already closed
-- Source: Arizona Department of Transportation
By Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX -- Arizona motorists are going to have to stand in line longer for driver licenses and look farther for rest areas to nap, stretch their legs and relieve themselves.
The reason, in large part is that we're not driving as much and we're buying fewer new cars and trucks. And the ones we are purchasing are more fuel efficient.
State transportation officials said Thursday the agency is facing a $100 million shortfall this budget year. That's even after prior spending cuts, including reductions in highways maintenance and requiring all Department of Transportation workers to take off one day without pay every two weeks.
ADOT spokesman Doug Nintzel said a dozen Motor Vehicle Division offices where people can get licensed to drive and register their vehicles will be shuttered, at least for the time being. Which will be closed is yet to be determined.
"We've undertaken a review of facility and security issues, of proximity to other MVD locations, and even the availability of third-party enterprises,' he explained. That last category are private businesses which, under contract with the state, can handle many of the same functions.
But Nintzel said there's another factor in the mix, one that isn't even under ADOT control: Any closure has to be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
That's because motorists can register to vote when they get or renew a driver's license. Arizona is required under the federal law to notify federal officials of -- and give them a chance to object to -- any changes that could affect the voting rights of minorities.
And there no longer will be Saturday hours at the remaining 49 offices. What has already been decided is that 13 of the state's 18 rest areas will be closed beginning Oct. 19. The areas will be blockaded and motorists won't be able to exit.
That includes the McGuireville rest area, the southbound portion of which is home to a veterans memorial to accent the interstate's identity as the Veterans Memorial Highway. The memorial was placed two years ago and the new flagpole was raised just last year in November with much pomp and circumstance.
Nintzel said that move is less about operating costs than the maintenance and repairs necessary.
But he said ADOT is trying to work with nearby businesses to let travelers who need relief to let them use the rest rooms free of charge.
Closed rest stops and MVD offices are only part of what Nintzel said ADOT needs to do to bridge the budget gap.
"The primary thing that folks may notice is the deferral of maintenance along the highways, things as simple as mowing the grass or landscaping next to the highways,' he said.
Less obvious -- at least for the time being -- will be the need for the state transportation board to identify $370 million in construction projects that had been planned for the next four years that can be postponed.
Of particular concern, said Nintzel, is that the budget crunch actually could force Arizona to turn away some federal highway dollars. That's because these projects require a state match. And if Arizona doesn't have the money, it can't use the federal cash.
Nintzel said that matching provision does not include projects being funded with federal stimulus funds, as they do not include a state-match provision.
The reason for the moves is simple: There's not as much cash to spend at ADOT had hoped. And much of that is related to the recession.
One big reason, said Nintzel, has been that gasoline tax revenues have remained essentially flat.
While the price of fuel goes up and down, the state collects a flat 18 cents a gallon, a figure that hasn't changed since 1991, when gasoline was selling for less than a buck a gallon.
"The reality check is that people are driving less,' Nintzel said. That means they're filling up their tanks -- and state coffers -- a lot less frequently.
Complicating matters, he said, is that the other big source of highway funds is the state's vehicle registration fee. That is based on the value of the car or truck: It's most expensive when the vehicle is new and declines every year after that.
Nintzel said that means when people don't buy new cars and trucks and hang onto the ones they've got, the state gets less money -- even if the number of vehicles on the road remains the same.
And the new cars and trucks they are buying, Nintzel said, are becoming more fuel efficient, further reducing the need to stop at the pump.
He said the agency's fiscal situation has been complicated by the fact that legislators, looking for ways to deal with the larger state budget deficit, have taken funds that ADOT would otherwise have to use.
The Arizona Constitution specifically requires that fuel taxes and registration fees be used for highway construction and maintenance. But that has been interpreted to allow some cash to be siphoned off to help pay the salaries of highway patrol officers, freeing up those general fund tax dollars for other uses.
Reader Comments
Posted: Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Article comment by:
SHERRY
SURE WILL MISS A LOT OF THE REST AREAS. WHAT DO THE TRUCKERS DO WHEN FACED WITH THE REALITY OF DRIVING TOO MANY HOURS AND NEED THE BREAK?
