FAQs

Responsibility for road maintenance typically belongs to different entities depending on the type of road and its location. Here’s a general breakdown:

1. Federal Highways: Major federal highways, like Interstate-10, are managed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), but the actual maintenance and repair work is usually carried out by Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) under federal guidelines.
2. State Highways: Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). Maintenance includes major road repairs, construction projects, and significant upgrades.
3. Private Roads/Access Easements: If a road is privately owned, maintenance is the responsibility of the property owner or the private entity, like a homeowner’s association, that owns the road.
4. Local Municipal Roads: These are maintained by one of the cities in Cochise County. The city handles routine maintenance such as pothole repairs, street cleaning, and minor road improvements.
5. County Roads: Outside of cities are two general types of county roads.
   1. County-maintained roads (public). The county handles routine maintenance such as pothole repairs, street cleaning, and minor road improvements.
   2. County roads that are not county-maintained (public). No entity is formally responsible for maintaining these roads. In such cases, the road may remain in its current state until it is accepted for maintenance by the County Board of Supervisors or a Road Improvement District (RID) or Road Improvement and Maintenance District (RIMD) is formed to assume responsibility.

Road access and maintenance is an important part of circulation. There are questions within the Comprehensive Plan survey that are intended to gauge the level of satisfaction with roads in Cochise County as well as prioritize transportation funding moving forward. Survey responses will be used to develop policy recommendations and will be reported to the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors is able to add or remove specific roadways from County maintenance.

The Comprehensive Plan considers bus routes, bike lanes, multi-use trails, air travel, and sidewalks. The idea is to create a balanced and integrated transportation system that supports economic growth, accessibility, and quality of life.