Arizona DOT Planning For More EV Chargers by 2025

January 26, 2024

The Arizona Department of Transportation is now seeking bids for private entities to build or upgrade electric vehicle or EV charging stations along interstate highways.

[Above photo by Arizona DOT]

Construction of those stations – funded through the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure or NEVI program – is the first major step for the state to establish a network of rapid charging stations, the agency said.

The Arizona DOT said in a statement that it expects to have a total of 21 facilities operating by the end of 2025; stations that should reduce range anxiety and encourage use of EVs as a viable alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles.

The charging stations generally will be spaced no more than 50 miles apart, must be constructed beyond the freeway within a mile of an interchange, and must include at least four chargers that can charge a typical electric vehicle within 20 to 30 minutes.

Photo by the FHWA

[Editor’s note: The Federal Highway Administration recently issued $623 million from its Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant program to fund 47 EV charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure projects in 22 states and Puerto Rico. The agency also awarded nearly $150 million to 24 grant recipients in 20 states to make existing EV charging infrastructure more reliable.]

All stations will be privately owned and operated, with federal funds covering 80 percent of construction costs and the private developer paying 20 percent, Arizona DOT noted – with no state funds involved in the construction of those charging stations.

The agency said bids are due April 19, with contracts expected to be awarded later this summer. Construction of the privately owned facilities is anticipated to take about a year, the Arizona DOT added.

While the agency expects to locate this initial slate of EV charging stations along interstate highways, Arizona DOT said it plans to expand its EV recharger facility construction effort to other state highway locales starting with an additional round of bids in 2025.

State departments of transportation across the country are also deploying federal funds to either expand EV charger network along highways under their purview or upgrade existing systems. Those initiatives include:

  • The California Department of Transportation – known as Caltrans – received some $63.7 million from FHWA to fix and install more than 1,000 chargers at 300 sites statewide.
  • The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation plans to repair or replace dozens of existing EV charging sites using a $5 million federal award. The agency also oversaw the completion and opening of Pennsylvania’s first federally-funded EV charging station in late December 2023.
  • The New York State Department of Transportation is getting $13 million from FHWA to enhance the reliability of EV charging ports across the state.
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