Mayor lobbies Rep. Grijalva for railroad overpass

Politicians in Washington, D.C., might soon be discussing whether to fund a railroad crossing overpass, among other proposed improvements, right here in Maricopa.

“It’s a great day for Maricopa,” Mayor Kelly Anderson said Thursday after shuttling Rep. Raul Grijalva around the city to take a look at some of the places in the area with pressing needs.

It all started about six weeks ago with a conversation between the mayor and congressman about the proposed Maricopa aviation project. Anderson said he contacted Grijalva to give him a heads-up that he might be contacted by the Federal Aviation Administration.

“The topic turned to transportation,” Anderson said, and the issues surrounding State Route 347 where it connects to Interstate 10 and Interstate 8 as they relate to trade routes, and tourists visiting San Diego or Rocky Point, Sonora, in Mexico.

As it turned out, Anderson said, Grijalva was already familiar with the area because he has family in Stanfield.

So Anderson invited Grijalva, who was in town visiting for the holidays, to stop by Maricopa before flying back to Washington, D.C., to take a look.

He wanted him to see, for example, that traffic often backs up when the arms come down at the railroad crossing over North John Wayne Parkway.

“The city can’t afford to build a several million-dollar overpass on a state highway,” Anderson said he told Grijalva.

Anderson said he added that Maricopa meets regularly with the Maricopa Association of Governments, the Pinal Association of Governments, the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Arizona Office of the Governor to discuss Valley transportation issues. Maricopans contribute to the daily rush-hour jams at the infamous Broadway Curve where I-10 and Broadway Road connect, in addition to the familiar SR 347 backups much closer to home.

In short, Maricopa is a player when it comes to regional transportation, and with that in mind, Anderson said, he believes the players in Washington, D.C., just might be willing to pony up some help.

“We are very committed to working cooperatively with everybody and we are willing to do and pay our fair share,” Anderson said.

Anderson said it would be unlikely that Maricopa would receive assistance for the railroad overpass as a separate measure, but that his hope was that it would become part of an overall package including aid for a flood plain and other projects which are in the works or will be added to the mix in the next four to five years.

“Grijalva said he’d work diligently with the city of Maricopa to get it into the system,” Anderson said. “He says the best thing that will come from today’s meeting is that Maricopa will get its foot in the door, and that’s the biggest hurdle to jump over.”

Anderson said he also enjoys a strong relationship with Sen. Jon Kyl, and that he plans to visit Washington, D.C., several times in the next few years to keep Maricopa on the minds of all statesmen who serve on related committees.

It won’t be the first time he’s made the trek to the nation’s capital on city business. Anderson has visited Washington, D.C., to discuss education, water and agriculture.

“It’s part of the job, if you’re serious about it,” he said.

Anderson is not running for re-election this spring, and will likely long since have left office by the time any railroad overpass funding could materialize.

“I may not live long enough to see any of it,” Anderson said, “but you plant those seeds so one day when someone does move on it, they can slide right in.”

Grijalva, who left Maricopa to fly back to Washington, D.C., immediately after meeting with Anderson, was not immediately available for comment.