The winding road up Mount Graham is well-known for its switchbacks and hairpin curves, but travelers who can take their eyes off the road to appreciate the view understand why State Highway 366, or the Swift Trail, was designated as a state scenic highway.

The 26-mile route earned that designation in 1993, and it climbs about 6,000 feet from desert scrubland to forested mountain peaks.

The scenic highway designation provides guidelines to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) for maintenance and construction projects along the roadway and the strips of forest that line the road. The agency is developing a corridor management plan and held two meetings to hear input from community members on April 20. The corridor management plan is designed to provide a vision for the roadway and surrounding area, an inventory and documentation of the special qualities and features of the roadway and an outline of community goals.

The first meeting was open to government officials and other stakeholders, and the second was for the entire community.

"In order to develop a consensus with the community, the Forest Service, the Chamber of Commerce and the citizens at large, we wanted to meet with the folks in the Gila Valley and talk about what a scenic highway is and what it is not," ADOT Safford District Engineer Bill Harmon said. "We learned from the stakeholders that a lot of people are interested in developing Swift Trail in terms of offering educational signing, safety pullouts and other similar projects."

The various agencies are, however, bound by the budget dollars available for such projects.

"Arizona is growing, and people are going to want to come and visit Mount Graham for a number of reasons, whether it be the telescope, the recreational opportunities or to just escape the summer heat," Harmon said. "Unfortunately, the Forest Service doesn't get a budget increase just because the numbers of visitors increase."

Ideas presented at the meeting included posting elevation signs at 1,000-foot increments, which Harmon said would help visitors better understand the changing life zones. He said this would be fairly easy to implement within the next few years, but something like posting Forest Service rangers at Columbine full-time would take a lot more money than is available.

"There is a range of opportunity that we have," Harmon said. "What we are looking for is not only government money to construct and improve projects along the roadway but sponsorships or donations from businesses or private citizens for certain projects."

Harmon also stressed that the scenic highway designation and management plan are not mandates, but guidelines.

"We can't stop people from doing things - like we can't make people leave their cabins," he said. "The plan also covers only the areas of the ADOT right of way. We have no jurisdiction on Forest Service land."

The public meeting was the first step in developing a management plan for the scenic highway. ADOT will go through the process of public hearings and draft copies, all of which will include community input. Finishing the plan will take 12 to 18 months, but when it is done, ADOT will be eligible for grants to pursue some of the projects presented.

ADOT is also soliciting participants to serve on the community advisory committee for management of Swift Trail. To volunteer for the committee call Laura Paty from HDR Engineering at (602) 522-7787. The committee will help with the shaping of the corridor management plan.