In a move to make travel on Interstate 10 safer and more efficient, the transportation leaders in four states have created a coalition supporting innovation along the corridor.
An agreement establishing the voluntary I-10 Corridor Coalition, proposed by Arizona Department of Transportation Director John Halikowski, was signed June 2 by Halikowski; Malcolm Dougherty, director of the California Department of Transportation; Tom Church, cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Department of Transportation; and James Bass, executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation.
For Arizona, the partnership is designed to remove what transportation officials refer to as “friction”—such as the variety of commercial vehicle permitting and inspection practices in each state along I-10—that makes the movement of goods less efficient than it could be.
Commerce flowing on I-10 across California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas is the engine of a powerful economic region. I-10 is the primary trucking route to and from the Port of Long Beach, which connects to Asian markets, and connects the trillion-dollar markets of Southern California and central Texas.
The coalition will apply best practices to improve safety and efficiency along the corridor, improve freight movement, expand and coordinate the use of technology along the corridor, and promote cooperative planning. The coalition also will engage other levels of government and private stakeholders throughout the corridor to achieve the goals of friction-free travel.
