Put People First on the 303/Grand: Approve BNSF Only With Hard, Enforceable Conditions

Maricopa County’s Board of Supervisors is set to consider a sweeping land-use change to enable BNSF’s proposed $3.2 billion intermodal and logistics hub near US-60 by Wittmann. Supporters tout the project as “transformative,” with claims of roughly 50,000 direct and indirect jobs and more than $250 million in annual state and local tax revenue—numbers that understandably turn heads in a fast-growing region like ours.

Growth, however, is not a blank check—especially not at one of the Northwest Valley’s most fragile choke points: the Loop 303/US-60 corridor. Residents know this stretch for what it is today: chronically congested, crash-prone, and already straining local arterials.

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) just finished a focused study to fix it, selecting a new Loop 303 interchange at 155th Avenue specifically to relieve pressure at 303/Grand and the 163rd Avenue intersection. ADOT’s own summary projects the 155th solution would reduce volumes by 33.1% on 163rd Ave north of US-60 and cut 18.1% on US-60 between 163rd and Loop 303—congestion relief we can’t afford to squander.

Meanwhile, traffic tied to the rail hub is substantial. A traffic analysis reported by local media anticipates about 22,000 additional daily vehicle trips in the area when the project matures—thousands of them heavy trucks. That’s on top of today’s conditions, not instead of them.

And it’s not just neighbors raising red flags. The Surprise City Council unanimously opposed the current plan in October, citing “substantial unmitigated risk” and an undue burden on city infrastructure and public safety—plus ongoing difficulties getting BNSF to the table with concrete mitigations. That is the elected body closest to the people who will live with this day to day. Their message shouldn’t be brushed aside.

With a formal hearing scheduled by the County for Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, supervisors should use their leverage to insist on hard, enforceable conditions before any comprehensive plan amendment or rezoning proceeds. The choice is not “jobs vs. neighborhoods.” It’s whether our leaders demand both prosperity and protection.

We want the jobs. We welcome the investment. But we cannot import 22,000 extra daily trips—including thousands of heavy trucks—into one of the West Valley’s most fragile corridors without ironclad safeguards and a build-first, operate-later sequencing plan. The ADOT 155th Avenue interchange can buy us a 33% traffic reduction at 163rd—if we don’t erase that win immediately with unmanaged freight growth. Approve this project only if BNSF signs up to the protections our families, first responders, and small businesses deserve.