SACATON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently notified Congress that he would announce a $93 million grant to widen the stretch of Interstate 10 located entirely within the Gila River Indian Community.

According to a news release, the grant award is the culmination of an intensive year-long effort to highlight the critical need for this grant funding to improve the safety, conditions, access, and reliability of this stretch of the I-10 for Gila River Indian Community members.

When a prior federal grant submission last year failed to receive funding in the last cycle of grant awards, GRIC Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis requested a debrief of the prior grant and the reasons the grant was not among those funded. That feedback led him to insist on a stronger role for GRIC in developing a new grant proposal.

That led to a joint grant submission by GRIC and the state of Arizona.

The release says Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs was an “instrumental partner” in the effort, supporting GRIC’s involvement from the beginning.

The new grant submission not only emphasized the safety needs for GRIC and how as many as 126,000 vehicles use this stretch of the I-10 each day, but also to address the longstanding equity associated with the only unimproved portion of the I-10 being the section contained within GRIC.

For many years, the portion of the I-10 has stretched the resources of GRIC’s first responders due to the high number of accidents and fatalities in what is often described the “fatal funnel,” the release states.

The consistent strain on the GRIC’s families, students, elders and employees led to an aggressive advocacy push by GRIC to ensure funding is received and this stretch can be widened to match roadways off the reservation.

In what might be a historic first, Govs. Lewis and Hobbs made this grant proposal the top infrastructure priority for both Arizona and GRIC and traveled to Washington D.C. together to present the joint proposal to the White House and Buttigieg.

GRIC also worked hand-in-hand with members of the Congressional delegation. Sens. Sinema and Kelly used every opportunity to ensure the Biden Administration was aware of the importance of this project to the state, the release states.

Also, GRIC stayed in touch with Reps. Ruben Gallego and Greg Stanton and worked tirelessly to express the need for this project and to improve safety for GRIC community members and all those who travel on the stretch of I-10.

The Arizona Legislature played a key role in securing the grant funding by committing a state match that will make the up remainder of the total cost of the project when combined with funding set aside by the Maricopa Association of Governments.

Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke is the vice chair of MAG’s Regional Council Executive Committee; Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego is the chair.

The release states the grant is an example of what can be accomplished with strong partnerships coming together to meet the needs of GRIC and many other Arizonans.

“I am so proud of the Community’s aggressive effort,” Roe Lewis said in the release. “This will ensure that this long-neglected stretch of the I-10 will be widened and improved to enhance the safety and reliability of this roadway for our members and all those who travel through the Community. It not only will improve this vital stretch of highway in our State, it will improve the Community’s access to it by building a new intersection at Seed Farm Road, connecting our government services directly to this vital transportation corridor.

“The historic and unique tribal, state, federal and county partnership paved the way for a sustained commitment by all parties that led to today’s announcement,” Roe Lewis states. “I look forward to ensuring this partnership continues so the improvements to the I-10 can occur in an efficient and timely manner that takes into account the safety of the Community ... We are looking forward to welcoming Secretary Buttigieg and his team to our reservation to celebrate this historic investment in Indian Country.”

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