A
realignment study for State Route 95 (SR 95) is currently underway that
would ultimately define a new route from Interstate 40 (I-40) to State Route 68
(SR 68), between the Black Mountains to the east and the developed portions
of the Colorado River corridor to the west. The project is being studied
because travelers on the existing SR 95
between I-40 and Bullhead City experience high traffic volumes and long
delays. Additionally, SR 95 in its current alignment does not connect to
I-40. Although SR 95 was widened in the year 2000, it still functions as a
city arterial street with many signalized intersections, numerous driveways,
and miles of urban sidewalks.
In
the mid-1990s, the Arizona Department of Transportation and Mohave County,
in consultation with the Bureau of Land Management, began discussing various
strategies for SR 95 with the primary goals to improve the transportation
system, enhance the safety of the traveling public and to better connect the
fast-growing Colorado River communities. ADOT and its stakeholder agency
partners are now developing a Location/Design Concept Report and
Environmental Impact Statement to help facilitate this goal.
The
vision for the new SR 95 is to create the most feasible, access-controlled
highway that makes travel between the area communities safer and easier.
Making this vision a reality would require a realignment of SR 95 north of
I-40 and continuing to SR 68 east of Bullhead City. Access along the new
highway would ultimately be limited to grade-separated interchange locations,
spaced approximately 3-5 miles apart along the selected corridor route,
facilitating regional traffic flow, and helping to reduce traffic congestion
and enhancing safe travel for the traveling public. |
