There’s been confusion online over whether the State Route 347 Corridor Widening is fully funded.

The answer, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Maricopa Association of Governments, is yes — but with a catch.

ADOT recently clarified on Facebook that the Pinal County segment, which stretches from Riggs Road to Maricopa’s northern limit, is fully funded for design next year and construction in FY2027 as part of ADOT’s five-year plan. Meanwhile, the Maricopa County segment, which runs from Interstate 10 to Riggs Road, is currently scheduled for FY2031 under the Maricopa Association of Governments Transportation Improvement Program.

That comment triggered a wave of confusion and misinformation on social media, with some posts claiming the corridor wouldn’t be completed until 2031. But according to transportation officials, the planning has always accounted for the phased nature of the work.

MAG is responsible for budgeting transportation projects in Maricopa County, including those funded by the county’s half-cent sales tax, said Arminta Syed, MAG’s transportation policy and initiatives program manager.

“The 347 Corridor in particular is this sort of complicated coordination effort,” Syed told InMaricopa. Indeed, the bifurcated project is even more patchworked — the Pinal County segment is being funded by separate successful lobbies of policymakers in Maricopa, Florence and Phoenix.

MAG’s transportation program placing funding for SR 347 in FY2031 was approved in May — before ADOT added its section to its own five-year program.

“We knew that there was this potential for other funding to be added later on, but we just didn’t have official confirmation on it,” Syed said. “As part of working with our elected officials, we said, ‘Hey, there might be additional funding that becomes available for this corridor. If so, as we update the program next year, will you give us approval to look at advancing it?’ and they said yes.”

Essentially, Syed said, MAG intends to advance the funding to match ADOT’s timeline south of Riggs Road — “but it just won’t happen until next year’s program update, because it gets updated on an annual basis,” she said.

At a Feb. 19 meeting of MAG’s Transportation Policy Committee, Assistant Executive Director John Bullen described SR 347 as a crucial but overburdened connection.

“SR 347 is the major lifeline in and out of Maricopa,” Bullen said, citing congestion and safety concerns.

“All we’re recommending is that we position the Maricopa County portion of that project to be able to move forward if the city of Maricopa and others are able to secure additional resources to build the Pinal County portion,” Bullen said. “It’s very important that we build this project together.”

Indeed, the resources were secured, and the full project is moving forward. MAG will set priorities and manage regional funding, while ADOT is responsible for building the infrastructure itself.

“We have a very close working relationship with MAG,” ADOT spokesperson Steve Elliott told InMaricopa. “We consult with them on their plans to schedule things … We work very closely with MAG, and that will be the case with the 347 projects.”