In addition to accepting the Master Plan, the Town Council approved submitting a grant application for an U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant and contributing $200,000 towards a 10 percent funding match. 

The Coconino County Flood Control District Board of Directors also approved a funding match up to $2.4 million for the BUILD Grant, if awarded. With these approvals, the Town has submitted the application for a BUILD Grant for funding construction of the Phase 1 elements of the overall flood mitigation project known as the Ensuring Grand Canyon National Park Visitor Access Project. The total estimated project cost for Phase 1 is $25.9 million. 

“These grants are critical to constructing the projects identified in the Tusayan Drainage Master Plan and therefore for ensuring access to the Park, improving public safety and maintaining utility services in our community,” said Clarinda Vail, Tusayan Mayor. 

Civiltec Engineering and JE Fuller Hydrology, the Engineering Project Team, have developed a plan that includes a multitude of flood control measures, both within Tusayan and upstream on National Forest System lands, including detention facilities on forest, and a storm drain system through much of town and an upsized channel near the Tusayan Wastewater/Reclaimed Water Plant to more safely convey water under State Route 64 and through the Town. 

The overall project will result in meeting ADOT’s 25-year storm standard for State Route 64 and providing 100-year storm mitigation to Tusayan’s Wastewater/Reclaimed Water Plant. 

“Implementing the Tusayan Drainage Master Plan so access to the Grand Canyon National Park is maintained is vital to the economy of Coconino County and the region in addition to improving public safety,” said Patrice Horstman, Chair of the Flood Control District Board of Directors. 

Phase 1 of the overall project includes a large detention facility and two smaller detention basins that are all located upstream of the Town on National Forest System land. These measures are fundamental to mitigating the highway and the town – without reducing the volume of floodwater entering Tusayan, it would not be possible to convey the very large volume of floodwater through the Town. These measures will reduce the overtopping of State Route 64 by 96 percent during a 10-year storm and a 25-year storm by 78 percent. For example, the flooding during the August 2023 flood event would have been mitigated with the Phase 1 measures. 

The USDOT BUILD Grant program provides grants for infrastructure projects with significant local or regional impact, such as this project in Tusayan. The BUILD Grant allows eligible organizations the ability to pursue multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional projects that are more difficult to fund through other traditional grant programs. BUILD is a nationally competitive grant program, and in many cases, must be pursued over two or more grant cycles to be successful. 

If awarded, then the project timeline would likely extend over the next three plus years to complete the engineering and move into and through construction. The Town also applied for another federal Department of Transportation grant, the Federal Lands Access Program Grant this past November and expects to hear in the next two months if the grant was awarded. 

For project information, visit the Tusayan Drainage Master Plan Project webpage at: coconino.az.gov/3275/Tusayan-Drainage-Master-Plan. For questions about this project, email TusayanDrainagePlan@coconino.az.gov.