A bipartisan group of Arizona lawmakers has dropped a new bill that could address the construction of a bridge in Tonto Basin less than a month after three children were swept away in Tonto Creek.
Willa Rawlings, her brother Colby and their cousin Austin were killed after their vehicle they were in was swept up in Tonto Creek during a rainstorm in November.
Residents of the area believe the tragedy could have been avoided had their years of requests for a bridge been fulfilled. But federal funding to build a bridge at Tonto Basin has been denied multiple times since 2010.
Gila County says all the prep work to build is done, including bridge design and environmental impact studies. All it needs is money to build the bridge.
It's estimated that building the bridge would cost more than $20 million.
HB 2056 is looking to change that lack of money.
The bill would set aside the $20 million from the state general fund in the fiscal year 2020-2021 and give the money to the Arizona Department of Transportation for the purpose of building a bridge at the Bar X crossing.