The San Tan Valley Town Council approved a letter supporting Gilbert’s 2026 Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant application without opposition. The grant would fund a Hunt Highway connection study to improve east-west travel along the corridor.
Hunt Highway’s Connectivity Problem
Town Manager Brent Billingsley described the route’s challenges during the council’s Feb. 4, 2026, meeting. “If you try to drive Hunt Highway north and west, it kind of becomes a problem because you get to Queen Creek and Hunt Highway ends,” he said. “And then in Gilbert, it picks back up again and then it ends again, and then it’s a two-lane road through Chandler up to 287.”
Gilbert’s intent, Billingsley explained, is to study the corridor. The goal is to determine whether it can become a more regional east-west connector on the east side of the Valley.
What a BUILD Grant Covers
The BUILD program is a federal grant administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation. It funds surface transportation infrastructure projects with significant local or regional impact. The program originally launched as TIGER grants in 2009 and has been renamed several times since. Its name reverted to BUILD in 2025.
In this case, Gilbert is seeking BUILD grant funding specifically for a study — not construction. Councilmember Rupert Wolfert asked whether the study would examine potential costs. Billingsley said it would likely look at costs, alternatives, environmental constraints, and jurisdictional boundaries. Wolfert then asked whether the grant itself would only fund the study. Billingsley said that was his understanding. “They’re just asking for the study,” he said. “You do a study and you determine if there’s feasibility, and then you move onto a NEPA analysis, and then you move on to try and get funding to construct it.” NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act, requires federal agencies to assess environmental impacts before approving major infrastructure projects.
Billingsley compared the process to the decades-long effort behind the north-south corridor.
Reciprocal Support Between Communities
Vice Mayor Tyler Hudgins called the vote “a no-brainer” for two reasons. First, improving Hunt Highway would directly benefit northbound travel from San Tan Valley. Second, he noted that Gilbert and Mesa had the power to veto San Tan Valley’s incorporation effort but instead supported it.
“There were two cities that had the ability and the power to veto the incorporation effort,” Hudgins said. “One of those was Mesa and the second one was Gilbert. They have supported this community, and I think this would be an opportunity to return the favor.”
Council Vote and Future BUILD Grant Requests
Vice Mayor Hudgins moved to approve the letter and authorize Mayor Daren Schnepf to sign it on behalf of the town. Councilmember Wolfert seconded the motion, and the council approved it.
Billingsley also noted that additional requests for BUILD grant support letters may follow. Pinal County, he said, is planning its own BUILD grant application. As a result, the council could see similar items on future agendas.
