A sample of cross-border teamwork is underway in the south, with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) joining officials of the Mexican Sonora state to make highways safer.
Their focus is on Mexico Route 8, a road used by Arizona residents heading south of Lukeville, and leading inevitably to the beaches of Puerto Peñasco. They desire to have a safety corridor in place by spring break season. To that end, ADOT representatives have already worked to train their Mexican counterparts on the management of traffic incidents.
“This historic collaboration between ADOT and our Sonoran counterparts, including Governor Claudia Pavlovich, on the creation of the safety corridor is great for Arizona,” said Juan Ciscomani, senior adviser to Gov. Doug Ducey on International and Regional Affairs and leader of the Arizona-Mexico Commission. “It’s these kinds of collaborative cross-border solutions that help us ensure that our infrastructure and our region are as safe as possible.”
Arizona is providing the training, while enforcement will be conducted by Mexican law enforcement and military. The partners also plan to put up road signs with safety messages written in both Spanish and English. Further, they desire a pilot program for information sharing between Sonora and ADOT.