PHOENIX — Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is planning to visit the Valley this Thursday and Friday to announce significant infrastructure investments made in Arizona.
12News has learned Buttigieg is scheduled to hold a press conference Thursday morning in Tucson with U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly before traveling up to Phoenix in the afternoon to host another conference alongside U.S. Representatives Greg Stanton, Ruben Gallego, and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.
The secretary will be making project announcements tied to funding allocated through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress last November.
Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend and one-time presidential candidate, will also visit United Aviate Academy and host a town hall Friday morning with students.
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How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
