Arizona State Freight Plan
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Arizona State Freight Plan This document is Arizona’s five-year State Freight Plan and fulfills the federal requirements for state freight plans embodied in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. This Freight Plan, together with a series of technical working papers that informed development of the Freight Plan, also provides the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) with a base of decision making knowledge and strategies to increase the prominence of freight in ADOT planning and programming. Acknowledgements ADOT thanks an outstanding CPCS (CPCS Transcom Inc.) team for its exemplary efforts in producing this Freight Plan. ADOT also expresses gratitude to the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and Freight Advisory Committee (FAC) for valuable advice throughout the development of the plan. Michael Demers, though no longer employed at ADOT, is acknowledged for managing the Plan developed for ADOT, while he served as ADOT Freight Planner. Heidi Yaqub, ADOT’s current Freight Program Manager is also recognized for her efforts in completing the Final Plan document. The Arizona State Freight Plan was prepared under the direction of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) by: CPCS In association with: HDR Engineering, Inc. American Transportation Research Institute, Inc. Elliott D. Pollack & Company Dr. Chris Caplice (MIT) Plan*ET Communities PLLC (Leslie Dornfeld, FAICP) Gill V. Hicks and Associates, Inc. Contact Questions and comments on this plan can be directed to: Charla Glendening, AICP Assistant Manager of Planning and Programming 602-712-7376 www.azdot.gov FINAL | Arizona State Freight Plan Table of Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Freight Plan ...................................................................................................... 1 The Economic Context for the Arizona State Freight Plan ....................................................... 2 Freight Plan Development Phases............................................................................................ 3 FAST Act Requirements for Freight Plans ................................................................................ 4 Freight Plan Development Process .......................................................................................... 5 2 Context of the Freight Plan within the ADOT Planning Process .................................................... 6 Linking Federal Requirements to State Planning Processes .................................................... 6 Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan ............................................................................. 7 Planning to Programming Link ................................................................................................. 8 3 Freight Plan Goals, Objectives, Policies, and Strategies.............................................................. 12 Vision ...................................................................................................................................... 12 Goals and Objectives .............................................................................................................. 13 Relationship to National Freight Policy Goals ........................................................................ 15 Policies .................................................................................................................................... 18 Strategies ................................................................................................................................ 18 4 Arizona’s Freight System ........................................................................................................... 23 Freight System Overview ....................................................................................................... 23 Freight Highway System ......................................................................................................... 25 Freight Rail System ................................................................................................................. 27 Air Cargo System .................................................................................................................... 30 Pipeline System ...................................................................................................................... 30 Borders and International Freight Gateways ......................................................................... 30 Freight Clusters ....................................................................................................................... 33 5 Freight System Condition and Performance .............................................................................. 34 Introduction: Freight System Condition and Performance .................................................... 34 Freight Performance Measures .............................................................................................. 36 Overall Performance .............................................................................................................. 44 6 Economic Context of Freight Movement in Arizona ................................................................... 45 Wider Economic Trends ......................................................................................................... 45 Role of Freight in the Arizona Economy ................................................................................. 46 7 Trends Affecting Arizona Freight Transportation ....................................................................... 56 Summary of Trends Affecting Arizona’s Freight Transportation System ............................... 56 Potential Future Scenarios ..................................................................................................... 60 FINAL | Arizona State Freight Plan Implication of Trends on Needs and Improvement Priorities................................................ 63 8 Strengths, Weaknesses, Needs, and Issues ................................................................................ 65 Strengths of the Arizona Freight Transportation System ...................................................... 65 Weaknesses of the Arizona Freight Transportation System .................................................. 66 Policy Responses .................................................................................................................... 68 9 Prioritization of Needs and Project Identification ...................................................................... 70 Prioritization Approach .......................................................................................................... 70 10 Arizona Freight System Improvement Strategy........................................................................ 80 Strategic Considerations ........................................................................................................ 80 Improvement Strategies ......................................................................................................... 81 Critical Freight Networks ........................................................................................................ 84 11 Implementation Plan .............................................................................................................. 90 Approach to Implementation ................................................................................................. 90 Priority Projects and Implementation .................................................................................... 90 Funding Sources ..................................................................................................................... 92 Implementation Strategies ..................................................................................................... 95 Appendix 1 Arizona Freight Facts ........................................................................................... 99 Volumes and Value of Freight by Mode ......................................................................................... 99 Top Trading Partners ..................................................................................................................... 100 Top Commodities .......................................................................................................................... 102 Appendix 2 MAG and PAG Critical Urban Freight Corridors ................................................... 106 Appendix 3 Acronyms and Abbreviations ............................................................................. 110 FINAL | Arizona State Freight Plan 1Introduction Key Messages The State Freight Plan defines immediate and long-range investment priorities and policies that will generate the greatest return for Arizona’s economy. It also fulfills federal requirements for state freight plans embodied in the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Developed from 2015 to 2017, the Arizona State Freight Plan consolidates the strategies identified through its 11-phase development. The Freight Plan will serve as a guide to the strategies and actions that increase the prominence of freight in planning and programming statewide. Purpose of the Freight Plan The aims of the Arizona State Freight Plan (Freight Plan) are twofold: