Payson Roundup

1 day ago | paysonroundup.com | Peter Aleshire

The wrenching, emotional death match between two communities that played out in last week’s Arizona Transportation Board meeting in Payson is just a taste of traumas to come. That’s because Arizona doesn’t have enough money to maintain its highway system – much less keep up with growth. kAmp?5 56DA:E6 5:C6 AC@;64E:@?D :? ps~%’D ad\J62C A=2?[ 2 5JD7F?4E:@?2= DE2E6 =68:D=2EFC6 E92E 92D EC@F3=6 25@AE:?8 2 3F586E 92D?’E 6G6? DE2CE65 E@ 255C6DD 2? 2=2C>:?8 AC@;64E65 D9@CE72== :?

1 day ago | paysonroundup.com | Peter Aleshire

The U.S. Forest Service has proposed lifting the rule that bars roads in designated wilderness areas. The change could open 1.2 million acres of federal land in Arizona to logging. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins proposed canceling the 25-year-old “roadless rule” that created some 58 million acres of wilderness areas throughout the west. Arizona’s forested wilderness areas come to about 1.2 million acres of the 11 million acres of Forest Service land in Arizona.

3 days ago | paysonroundup.com | Peter Aleshire

It will get worse before it gets better. But then it might get a lot better. kAm%96 }2E:@?2= (62E96C $6CG:46 D2JD E96 >@?D@@? :D 4C66A:?8 :?E@ E96 DE2E6 @? DH62EJ =:EE=6 42E 766E – 3FE H6 AC@323=J H@?’E 86E 2?J >@?D@@? C2:? 367@C6 E6>A6C2EFC6D A62< 282:? E9:D H66<6?5]k^AmkAm%9:D H66<’D C6=2E:G6=J 4@@= E6>A6C2EFC6D E9C@F89@FE >@DE @7 E96 DE2E6 H:== C:D6 E@ 2 4@FA=6 @7 568C66D 23@G6 ?@C>2= 7@C E96 H66<6?5]k^AmkAmx? !2JD@?[ E92E’D 2? :?4C62D6 7C@> 2 9:89 @7 23@FE ge @? %F6D52J E@ >@C6 =:<6 `__ @?

3 days ago | paysonroundup.com | Peter Aleshire

Rim Country’s biggest, most dangerous bottleneck last week finally made it onto the Arizona Department of Transportation’s construction schedule. All it took was 40 years of frustration, numerous deaths and a meeting electric with the passion of Rim Country advocates for the $110- million widening to four lanes of a long-neglected stretch of 260 just beyond Star Valley. kAm“xE’D E:>6 E@ 7:?:D9 E9:D ;@3[” D2:5 7@C>6C w6==D82E6 u:C6 r9:67 y@9?

1 week ago | paysonroundup.com | Peter Aleshire

The long-delayed, often-canceled plan to fix a five-mile bottleneck on State Route 260 survived another near-death experience Friday when the Arizona State Transportation Board voted unanimously to keep the $110 million Lion Springs project in its five-year plan. Impassioned advocates implored the board to reject a proposal to again postpone the project to make room in the budget for a $134 million widening of State Route 347, which connects the town of Maricopa to Interstate 10 south of Phoenix.