STORY HEADLINE: Red Rocks at risk: Highway expansion plan lands Sedona, Ariz., on list
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Although today's news centers on a southwestern location, the subject of controversy is one that spans the nation: the impacts of building new or expanding existing highways. The story explains why some people want to upgrade the road and why others are opposing the current proposal.

THINK ABOUT IT:
Why do people want to upgrade the road? Why are others opposing the proposal? How do people's use of motor vehicles affect these types of decisions? How much do you think the aesthetic appeal of an area should be considered in these decisions? How much and in what ways do Americans depend on highways in our daily lives? What might be some other transportation or construction options for this area? How do you think communities are affected in relation to how close they are located to a highway? How often do you travel on highways and why? Have you heard of any controversies in Montana over the building of new or upgrading of existing highways?

RELATED LINKS:

Great Achievements - Highways (brief history and timeline):
http://www.greatachievements.org/greatachievements/ga_11_1.html

U.S. Highways - from US 1 to US 830 (lots of interesting and insightful sections on America's road systems; especially see Maps section for historical road maps):
http://www.us-highways.com/

Online Highways - Montana:
http://www.ohwy.com/mt/homepage.htm

Interstate 90 - from Seattle, WA to Missoula, MT (provides current and historical information):
http://nwhighways.amhosting.net/i90frames.html

Milestones in U.S. Public Transportation History:
http://www.apta.com/stats/history/mileston.htm

List of State Transportation websites:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/webstate.htm

Montana Department of Transportation (especially see Montana Fast Facts and Montana Maps (in PDF)):
http://www.mdt.state.mt.us/

Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption and Travel in the U.S., 1960-1999 (easy to read chart):
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004727.html

Public Roads On-Line (see the top four historical sections for insightful articles and photos):
http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/summer96/p96su.htm

Divided Highways - The Interstates and the Transformation of American Life (some good historical information and commentary in the forms of transcripts and QuickTime video clips):
http://www.pbs.org/weta/dividedhighways/

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Red Rocks at risk

By ANANDA SHOREY of the Associated Press

Highway expansion plan lands Sedona, Ariz., on list

Cars wait at a traffic light on Highway 89A in Sedona, Ariz., in June 1999. Scenic America has listed Sedona's Red Rock Country as one of the nation's most threatened landscapes because of the Arizona Department of Transportation's plan to expand a nine-mile stretch of road between Sedona and Interstate 17. ADOT says new lanes are needed to make the road safer and to reduce the congestion. Photo by CLIFF SCHIAPPA/Associated Press

PHOENIX - Sedona's Red Rock Country has been listed as one of the most threatened landscapes in the nation because of Arizona Department of Transportation plans to expand a highway.

The area was one of 10 identified by the national conservation organization Scenic America as being uniquely beautiful and having a pending threat with a potential solution. An advance copy of the list, which was to be released Thursday, was obtained by the Associated Press.

"We were absolutely flabbergasted that the Arizona Department of Transportation would choose to upgrade the road so drastically," Scenic America spokesman Steven Strohmeier said. "It sets a dangerous precedent for destroying scenic byways."

The department of transportation is scheduled to start expanding nine miles of Highway 179 between Sedona and Interstate 17 after an environmental assessment is completed in February, spokesman Howard Boice said.

The agency believes new lanes are needed to make the roadway safer and to reduce congestion caused by about 3 million visitors per year.

"We don't think it's going to have a negative impact on the scenic beauty of the area," Boice said.

Such plans have been opposed by a group of Sedona residents called Voice of Choice for almost two years.

The group agrees that improvements are needed, but says they can be accomplished with less drastic measures.

"A two-lane, meandering road through red rocks and the pinon juniper forest is part of the experience, and we believe that will be significantly altered with a four-lane highway," said Ernie Strauch, Voice of Choice vice president.

The department of transportation plans to widen about six miles of roadway that twists through Oak Creek and Sedona. The project calls for two lanes going in each direction with a turn lane in the middle.

About three miles of the stretch through the Coconino National Forest would be a divided highway with one lane going each way.

In 1995, an average of 16,000 vehicles used the roadway each day, Boice said. The transportation department estimates usage will grow to more than 28,000 vehicles per day by 2017.

Voice of Choice has hired its own transportation planning engineering firm to draw up an alternative plan.