WATCH: Kelly Presses Trump Nominees to Advance Stalled Arizona Infrastructure Projects
Today, during a Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee hearing, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly secured commitments from Trump administration nominees to move forward on critical Arizona infrastructure projects that have been stalled, including flood mitigation efforts in Winslow and Flagstaff and the 22nd Street Bridge replacement in Tucson.
During the hearing, Kelly spoke about Winslow Levee Project, which is fully funded through Kelly’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and would remove the town from a 100-year floodplain. He emphasized the need for urgency: “The Army Corps of Engineers is constructing this new levy project that will remove the town from a one-hundred-year flood plain. It is fully funded under bipartisan infrastructure law. They have the local match. Will you commit to ensuring the Corps moves as quickly as possible to complete this infrastructure project?”
Kelly also talked about the 22nd Street Bridge in Tucson, which spans a critical Union Pacific rail line and has deteriorated to the point that school buses and ambulances must reroute, Kelly called out the lack of federal response: “The City of Tucson has submitted a draft grant agreement to the Federal Highway Administration for their review which included all of the NEPA documents and utility and right-of-way clearances, yet the city has not received any feedback on this submitted documentation since December and they have not been able to meet with anybody. If confirmed, will you commit to prioritizing completing finalized grant agreements that have been caught up in this haphazardly implemented funding freeze like the 22nd Street Bridge?”
In response, each nominee committed to working with Kelly and pledged to implement the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and WRDA to complete these projects as Congress intended.
Kelly questions nominees on Arizona infrastructure projects
Click here to download a video of Kelly’s remarks. See the transcript below:
Sen. Kelly: Mr. Telle, good seeing you again. Thanks for coming by my office. I want to talk about some priority infrastructure projects we have in Arizona. First, as we discussed in my office, we talked about Winslow—the Winslow levy project. The Army Corps of Engineers is constructing this new levy project that will remove the town from a one-hundred-year flood plain. It is fully funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. They have the local match. Will you commit to ensuring the Corps moves as quickly as possible to complete this infrastructure project?
Mr. Adam Telle, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works: Senator, of course we will follow—if confirmed—I will follow the law and work with you and your constituents to make sure we provide that facility as quickly as we possibly can.
Sen. Kelly: Thank you. Second, in last year’s WRDA bill we secured some new emergency authorities for the Army Corps to ensure that the Corps can exercise its regulatory authorities differently in regions experiencing drought. What I’m talking about are the flood control curves we discussed. These changes have the potential to save hundreds of thousands of acre feet of water in certain years in the west. Will you commit to working with my office to ensure that the Corps’ implementation guidance reflects congressional intent, so the Corps moves quickly to respond to conditions in drought-stricken regions?
Mr. Telle: Senator Kelly, thank you for the question. As I have testified today on a number of occasions, the primary mission of the Corps of Engineers are navigation, flood control and ecosystem restoration. Water supply can be a secondary mission of the Corps. I would point out the provision that you worked to include in a recent WRDA bill that said in times of drought emergency, there can be an exception made to that policy. I think it makes sense, especially for communities in areas like your state that at times can be so desperate for water. So, I look forward to working with you to make sure we follow the law and get that provision implemented—the guidance and the rulemaking and other processes that are required to bring that to bear. I look forward to working with you to make sure we get it right.
Sen. Kelly: Thank you. Finally, we also talked about Rio de Flag, which is another flooding issue in Flagstaff, Arizona. We’ve got this project; it is downtown Flagstaff. It’s been funded, phase one of the project should be ready for construction next year, but we may run into an issue with the 902 limit. If a Post-Authorization Change Report is required for this project, will you commit to working with the City of Flagstaff to find a way to continue advancing phase one of the project without delay?
Mr. Telle: Senator, thank you for the question, and I look forward to learning more about the change you describe, and certainly across the board, as has been discussed on numerous occasions here today. The senator right before you made the point that time is money, and I’m sure that is the case in this project too. I look forward to working with you and I commit to doing everything we can to get it right even with changes.
Sen. Kelly: And if a packer is required, will you commit to ensuring the report is completed as quickly as possible so that it is provided to congress in time for WRDA 2026?
Mr. Telle: Senator, thank you for the question as well. This is another topic that I have heard on a bipartisan basis is of interest. Whether we like the answer you’re going to give us or not, give us an answer. I believe in that. I look forward to trying to be transparent and clear with you about the progress of the projects of interest to you so that even if the answer is not something you would prefer, you could potentially work to mitigate concerns that may exist.
Sen. Kelly: Thank you, Mr. Telle, Mr. McMaster, thank you for coming by my office, as well. When we met, we discussed the 22nd Street Bridge project in Tucson. It is a classic example of the type of project that Congress on a bipartisan basis intended to fund when we passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This project replaces this aging bridge over Union Pacific’s main rail line that goes east to west through Tucson. Right now, the bridge is in such poor shape, school buses and ambulances do not go over it. The City of Tucson has submitted a draft grant agreement to the Federal Highway Administration for their review which included all of the NEPA documents and utility and right-of-way clearances, yet the city has not received any feedback on this submitted documentation since December and they have not been able to meet with anybody. I know you are not in the building yet but anybody with as staff. But if confirmed, will you commit to prioritizing completing finalized grant agreements that have been caught up in this haphazardly implemented funding freeze like the 22nd Street Bridge?
Mr. Sean McMaster, Nominee for Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration: Yes, senator. I appreciated the conversation in your office. I will commit to you that I look forward to supporting the Secretary in his effort to move these projects from award to agreement as quickly and as expeditiously as possible. Lives and money are impacted with any possible delay. As it relates to this specific project, I look forward to following up with the Federal Highway Administration on the current status of that effort and that I will follow up with you directly afterwards.
Sen. Kelly: Will you also commit that your office will follow the law and implement any other discretionary grant programs as Congress intended?
Mr. McMaster: I commit to following the law with the intent of Congress.
