Supes to send 347 tax bill to vote

A proposition to fund expanding Maricopa’s main highway is back.  

By a 6-1 vote, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors yesterday approved a resolution to add a transportation tax bill to the November 2024 general election ballot.  

This approval comes after months of negotiations and bipartisan effort between the state House and Senate on Senate Bill 1102. In August, Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill to move the measure forward. 

The measure will appear on the ballot as Proposition 479, meaning a “yes” vote from Maricopa County voters would extend the half-cent sales tax approved in 2004 for another 20 years. This tax funds transportation projects in the county, which includes freeways, arterial streets and public transportation. 

This includes the five miles of SR 347 extending from the county line to Interstate 10. According to the resolution, SR 347 would claim roughly 40% of funding — or more than $878 million — allocated to “freeways and other routes in the state highway system.”  

This includes a $28 million pavement rehabilitation project, with 94.3% coming from federal aid funds and the remaining 5.7% from the State Highway Fund. The planning is ongoing with construction to begin in 2026 with completion expected in summer 2027. 

The remaining 59% would be split between public transportation, arterial streets and intersection improvements.