I-11 - What Would Be Lost - Households, Houses, Roads, and Other Creations.
Have you ever built a house? It can be difficult. But, if you build it the way you want it, and love being there more than any place else on earth, the thought of it's destruction can be too much to bear. So please understand what Helen and Eric Mellen are going through now. They did most of the labor to construct their dream home by themselves during the 1990's as funds became available. Now an interstate highway may replace it, or at least cut through the peaceful desert and designated wildlife corridor near their porch.
I-11 - The McGuinness Extended Family At Their Sunday Gathering
Here stands four generations of the McGuinness clan on land that has been the family focal point for over 40 years. Some live here in three lovely homes representing countless hours of time and energy. It's where the extended family gathers every Sunday to share food and learn what's new in each others lives. But these precious acres are in danger of being paved over by a four lane highway.
Sometimes it's hard to find a safe place to play in the desert where there are lots of things that can hurt you. Barbara McGuinness and her late husband Charles knew this in 1977 when they bought property for their home near Sandario and Mile Wide Roads after Charles retired from the Marine Corps. They were careful to create a safe space to enjoy the clear desert air and beautiful scenery with their children. Now Teckla and Tyler, two of their 23 great grandchildren, enjoy what Barbara and Charles created at one of the family parties held here every Sunday when up to 30 people from four generations gather. But this precious oasis, that has been the family focal point for over four decades, with it's large fish pond, 3 comfortable homes, and rattlesnake-proof patios, lies smack in the middle of the proposed route to be bulldozed for Interstate 11.
Carrie, Eric, Genevieve, and Brenden #1
Carrie and Eric found the perfect house. As Carrie says they 'aren't city people'. So this neighborhood, 45 minutes from Eric's job at the Phoenix airport, surrounded by desert, and blessed with little crime, seemed ideal. This was the rural environment they wanted for raising their children, Genevieve and Brenden, in safety, and close to wild nature. But three months after buying their dream home they were surprised with terrible news. No one told them they had chosen a spot inside the designated 2000 foot wide corridor somewhere within which Interstate 11 may be built. Only 400 feet of the 2000-foot corridor width would actually be scraped for the roadway. So it could miss them and take out other houses instead. But then they'd be living next to a noisy interstate – not what they bought into.
Edna and Butch did everything right. They both worked hard all their lives, raised a family, and owned a home in a Tucson subdivision. In 2009 they found a fine house out of town where they could enjoy the quiet in their well-earned retirement. It was a place with plenty of dirt roads to ride their ATV's, and a good place for their children and grandchildren to visit and enjoy the desert. Two years ago they learned that their “one last home” lies in the proposed corridor for interstate 11.
Brian says he's always lived where “I don't have someone next to me”. It's important to this third generation Arizona native to be able to step outside and see big sky views without any traffic noise. But the quiet seclusion of his neighborhood may soon be destroyed because his home lies within the proposed corridor for interstate 11. Brian doesn't understand why they want to put the road through here where so many people live. Lots of people don't understand it, and lots of people are, like Brian, in danger of losing their homes.
Jackie and Corey Smith are proud of the big saguaros and other native plants on their property near Sandario Road west of the Tucson Mountains. And they love the natural beauty of the surrounding desert. They bought the property because they wanted a peaceful life in a rural setting far away from noisy traffic. But their quiet neighborhood may soon change if interstate 11 is built along the Arizona Department of Transportation's proposed route west of the Tucson Mountains. The four-lane highway would run just beyond their backyard fence.
Much of the desert and some of the homes in this scene, east of Sandario and south of Mile Wide Roads, will be bulldozed away if the Arizona Department of Transportation builds Interstate 11 along it's preferred route.
Petroglyphs left by prehistoric nomads, speak of the land's long history in two ways: The artists probably scratched the rock's dark surface hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago. And the chemical reactions that formed the dark surface itself, known as desert varnish, likely took thousands more. These venerable symbols of prehistory lie smack in the middle of the planned corridor for Interstate 11, and could be removed. At best, they would end up right next to the busy highway. Then the special silence that surrounded this spot for millennia would suddenly be gone forever.
Petroglyphs left by prehistoric nomads, speak of the land's long history in two ways: The artists probably scratched the rock's dark surface hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago. And the chemical reactions that formed the dark surface itself, known as desert varnish, likely took thousands more. These venerable symbols of prehistory lie smack in the middle of the planned corridor for Interstate 11, and could be removed. At best, they would end up right next to the busy highway. Then the special silence that surrounded this spot for millennia would suddenly be gone forever.
Petroglyphs left by prehistoric nomads, speak of the land's long history in two ways: The artists probably scratched the rock's dark surface hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago. And the chemical reactions that formed the dark surface itself, known as desert varnish, likely took thousands more. These venerable symbols of prehistory lie smack in the middle of the planned corridor for Interstate 11, and could be removed. At best, they would end up right next to the busy highway. Then the special silence that surrounded this spot for millennia would suddenly be gone forever.
Petroglyphs left by prehistoric nomads, speak of the land's long history in two ways: The artists probably scratched the rock's dark surface hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago. And the chemical reactions that formed the dark surface itself, known as desert varnish, likely took thousands more. These venerable symbols of prehistory lie smack in the middle of the planned corridor for Interstate 11, and could be removed. At best, they would end up right next to the busy highway. Then the special silence that surrounded this spot for millennia would suddenly be gone forever.
Petroglyphs left by prehistoric nomads, speak of the land's long history in two ways: The artists probably scratched the rock's dark surface hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago. And the chemical reactions that formed the dark surface itself, known as desert varnish, likely took thousands more. These venerable symbols of prehistory lie smack in the middle of the planned corridor for Interstate 11, and could be removed. At best, they would end up right next to the busy highway. Then the special silence that surrounded this spot for millennia would suddenly be gone forever.
Scores of well-kept houses will be taken down if Interstate 11 is built west of the Tucson Mountains. Some funky structures will too such as this neglected little strawbale shack. Perhaps it was the small beginning of someone's dream for a home in the desert, a dream they may still have.
Scores of well-kept houses will be taken down if Interstate 11 is built west of the Tucson Mountains. Some funky structures will too such as this neglected little strawbale shack. Perhaps it was the small beginning of someone's dream for a home in the desert, a dream they may still have.
Scores of well-kept houses will be taken down if Interstate 11 is built west of the Tucson Mountains. Some funky structures will too such as this neglected little strawbale shack. Perhaps it was the small beginning of someone's dream for a home in the desert, a dream they may still have.
Some of these homes will be destroyed if interstate 11 is built along its proposed route west of the Tucson Mountains. And much of the wild desert near the others will be replaced by a noisy, four-lane highway.
A hope and a dream. That's what Emmitt and Leila Williams have. A dream of living in their new house now being built west of the Tucson Mountains. And the hope that Interstate 11 won't happen, at least not along the route proposed by the AZ Dept of Transportation. If it is, their home could be destroyed. Or at best a four lane superhighway would dominate their wild desert view, and cross one of Pima County's designated wildlife corridors.
North San Joaquin Road west of the Tucson Mountains is a simple route through the desert. Most of it runs down the middle of the proposed route for interstate 11.
I-11 - Sinagua Road Looking East #2 - Hazy Sky
With the Tucson Mountains to the east, and wild saguaro cactus desert to the left and right, Sinagua Road is scenic and peaceful. It's also part of a designated wildlife corridor. But if Interstate 11 is built along ADOT's proposed path a 400 foot wide swath will be bulldozed across it.
I-11 - Sinagua Road Looking East #1A - Hazy Sky
With the Tucson Mountains to the east, and wild saguaro cactus desert to the left and right, Sinagua Road is scenic and peaceful. It's also part of a designated wildlife corridor. But if Interstate 11 is built along ADOT's proposed path a 400 foot wide swath will be bulldozed across it.
With the Tucson Mountains to the east, and wild saguaro cactus desert to the left and right, Sinagua Road is scenic and peaceful. It's also part of a designated wildlife corridor. But if Interstate 11 is built along ADOT's proposed path a 400 foot wide swath will be bulldozed across it.
