By Corinne Murdock

On Monday, the Arizona House approved the Senate bill appropriating $400 million to widen the I-10 highway between Chandler and Casa Grande.

SB1239 enables the funds to not only be used for construction, but for obtaining federal funds to match the state funds. 

The Biden administration has already allocated funds to the I-10 under the president’s infrastructure initiative. 

Today the House overwhelmingly passed SB1239, committing $400 million to join with federal infrastructure funds (thanks President Biden!) to widen I-10 near Casa Grande. Leader @reginaldbolding explains the importance of infrastructure investment. #azleg pic.twitter.com/BapBVF0TQa

— Arizona House Democrats (@AZHouseDems) May 2, 2022

The I-10 is the fourth-largest national highway in the country, connecting the southernmost states from coast to coast. 

State Senator T.J. Shope (R-Coolidge) sponsored the bill. 

By a vote of 55-1, the AZ House of Reps has passed my SB1239 (Appropriation; Widening; I-10). It’ll be transmitted to Gov @DougDucey this afternoon. We will finally have a widened I-10 between Casa Grande & Phoenix! I will have a more formal statement on this later today. #AZLeg pic.twitter.com/qiJQxNHwNm

— T.J. Shope (@TJShopeforAZ) May 2, 2022

The House and Senate passed it almost unanimously. Only State Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-Scottsdale) and State Representative Jacqueline Parker (R-Mesa) voted against it.

Ugenti-Rita insisted that the funding wasn’t a wise move fiscally. 

“Thank you, Joe Biden”….that is something I will never agree with.

Voting on appropriation bills outside of the budget process is not how you craft a conservative and fiscally responsible budget.

I urge @DougDucey to do the right thing and veto this bill. https://t.co/PFEmBKFnr8

— Michelle Ugenti-RITA (@MichelleUgenti) May 3, 2022

Both Democrats and Republicans hailed the bill as an advance in critical Arizona infrastructure, alleviating traffic burdens.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.