San Luis, Arizona – The City of San Luis Cesar Chavez Boulevard Multimodal Improvements project has been selected by the United States Department of Transportation to receive a $25 million grant from the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program.
The Cesar Chavez Boulevard Multimodal Improvements project will reconstruct five miles of Cesar Chavez Boulevard, between San Luis Plaza Drive and Avenue E, connecting central San Luis to the San Luis II Commercial Port of Entry and State Route 195. This project will transform the corridor from a primarily two-lane, rural cross-section roadway to an urban, multimodal corridor with new pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure. As well as improvements to stormwater infrastructure, intersections, and the addition of bus stops, fiber, and bike facilities.
“I am beyond grateful for the hard work our Acting City Administrator Jenny Torres and her team have done for this project,” stated Mayor Nieves Riedel. “As well as the support and advocation Senator Mark Kelly, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, and Congressman Raúl Grijalva have provided on this project.” She added.
In addition to the $25 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the City of San Luis has received $33 million from state legislation, $2.7 million from the Arizona Department of Transportation, and $1.2 million from Senator Mark Kelly.
The City of San Luis has since acquired the right of way on 64 acres from the Federal Government and 16 acres from the State Land Department, and, as of December 2023, city staff finalized the acquisition of 4 acres from 11 different private property owners to implement the project.
The design for the Cesar Chavez Boulevard Multimodal Improvements will commence in 2024 and will take approximately 12 months. Furthermore, the construction will take up to 18 months, with the project to be completed in 2026.
“With $62 million in grants acquired for this project, the City of San Luis still requires an additional $4 million in funding to complete this project. Nonetheless, I am positive funding will be acquired, and the project will be completed in one phase,” stated Acting City Manager Jenny
Torres. “While there is still more work to do, we are thankful to all of our local, regional, state, and federal partners that have supported this project,” she added.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude, in no particular order, to James Davey and Associates, Ramirez Advisors Inter-National, LLC, Core Engineering, and Kimley-Horn for their contributions to this project.
For more information about this topic or to schedule a meeting with the City of San Luis Public Affairs Office, please call us at (928) 341-8520 or email us at publicrelations@sanluisaz.gov