There is a new Interstate Highway project in Arizona. I-11 will soon become a major link between Mexico and Canada. When completed, it will redefine transportation and commerce in the western United States.
Current Arizona plans have the highway running from Nogales to Wickenburg to Las Vegas on one of three proposed routes. All three routes pass between Goodyear and Buckeye.
This means the I-11 corridor will be more than a better road linking Phoenix and Las Vegas. In Maricopa County it will bring thousands of jobs – and tens of thousands of people – to the West Valley in the coming years.
Just imagine the hotels, motels, gas stations, rest stops, campgrounds, new homes, resale homes, rental homes, stores and countless other business that will need to be built over the coming years.
Until now the Phoenix metropolitan area has been effectively isolated from the rest of the United States. In fact, Phoenix and Las Vegas are the two largest US cities that are not connected by an interstate highway. I-10 is the only interstate highway linking Phoenix to other states. Much smaller cities like Atlanta, St. Louis and Kansas City are linked by no fewer than three.
How will Interstate 11 affect home prices and property values in Buckeye, Tonopah, Surprise and the rest of the Phoenix West Valley? New homes will have to be built, jobs created and an influx of new home owners will arrive, which should be very good for the local housing market.
I-11 connection will be a pathway between major metropolitan areas, trade hubs and deep-water ports. It will place Arizona and Nevada at the crossroads of emerging transcontinental commerce, trade and tourism routes between Mexico and Canada, and across the United States.
In addition, I-11 will provide an alternative freight corridor to congested north-south highway corridors such as I-5, I-15 and I-25. It will provide infrastructure needed for the manufacture of goods within North America – instead of Southeast Asia. It will create $1 billion in infrastructure equal to 30,000 jobs.
Connecting this important north-south corridor through the growing Intermountain West states like Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon and Washington is a critical opportunity for Arizona to capitalize on this investment.
What does this mean for common folks like you and I? This new highway is a potential catalyst for individuals to grow their wealth through land investment, entrepreneurial endeavors and the jobs that will be created!
This post was a response to an AZCentral article found here: http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2014/05/21/interstate-11-arizona/9388937/
