Senate Appropriations Committee advances $49M to accelerate Riggs Road overpass funding

The Arizona Senate Appropriations Committee voted to give Senate Bill 16-17 a due-pass recommendation after several residents, local elected officials and planning officials described repeated crashes at the Riggs Road interchange on State Route 347 and urged moving a $49 million appropriation from FY2028 into the current fiscal year.

Mayor Nancy Smith and multiple community members told the committee the project is “shovel ready” and that moving the appropriation forward will align funding with design work expected in early 2026. “This overpass will eliminate much of the danger by removing the need for drivers to wait at the light, and it will save lives,” Mayor Nancy Smith told the committee.

Sponsor staff told the committee the capital outlay appropriation was originally set in a prior budget for FY2028 and that SB 16-17 requests shifting the $49,000,000 into the current fiscal year to match the expected design completion and permit construction to proceed more quickly. Pinal County Supervisor Rich Vitiello described a local resident who has been hospitalized since a March crash and stressed the project’s urgency.

Senators debated whether the project appears in the Arizona Department of Transportation five-year plan and which ADOT projects might be delayed if the appropriation is advanced. One senator asked staff and local representatives to coordinate with ADOT and return with updated information before floor votes. Senator Epstein used an explanation-of-vote to link revenue policy to infrastructure capacity, saying current tax policy limits the state’s ability to fund projects at will.

The committee recorded the motion and roll call; the clerk announced the result as a due-pass recommendation (8 ayes, 1 nay, 1 not voting). The bill will next proceed to the full Senate for consideration where further budget and ADOT-plan questions may arise.