Opening of new east-west freeway in metro Phoenix nears

PHOENIX — Cross-country travelers and local commuters will soon have a new route to traverse metro Phoenix with the opening of an east-west freeway that will skirt the often-congested section of Interstate 10 through downtown Phoenix.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and other government officials will gather Wednesday at new bridges over the Salt River to celebrate the imminent opening of the 22mile (35-kilometer) South Mountain Freeway.

The new South Mountain is part of the Loop 202 freeway already ringing much of the urban area and will provide a new connection between the Loop 202 Santan Freeway in Chandler on the east and Intestate 10 in southwest Phoenix on the west.

Arizona Department of Transportation spokesman Tom Herrmann said Friday that the exact day and time the freeway will open hadn’t yet been set but that it would occur “in the days following the event” Wednesday.

Transportation officials and local government and tribal leaders are among those scheduled to be on hand with Ducey to mark the freeway’s completion. The governor’s office calls it “the culmination of the largest single freeway project in state history.”

The new freeway was recently given honorary designation of the Congressman Ed Pastor Freeway in honor of the late former congressman who helped secure federal funding for numerous public infrastructure projects in metro Phoenix. Pastor family members also will be present for Wednesday’s event.

Ducey’s office said in a statement that the $1.7 billion project was finished three years early and with $100 million in savings through an innovative privatepublic partnership.

Construction began in late 2016 with a road work providing a connection with the Santan. Construction of the freeway and its numerous bridges began in earnest in 2017.

Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, the South Mountain Freeway will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the metro area.

With state Transportation Director John Halikowski calling the South Mountain “a regional transportation solution,” state officials said when construction was poised to begin that the new freeway would help accommodate population growth in suburban areas and provide time savings for drivers.

Much of the freeway’s route along the foothills of South Mountain, a mountain range along Phoenix’s southern border, is considered sacred by the nearby Gila River Indian Community. The tribe waged an unsuccessful court fight to block construction.

A coalition of environmental and community groups also opposed construction of the new freeway.

Numerous homes were purchased and demolished along the freeway route.

ASSOCIATED PRESS TRAFFIC MOVES ALONG the South Mountain Freeway in Phoenix early in the morning Saturday. The east-west route skirting much of metro Phoenix provides long-distance travelers and local commuters a new route that avoids the often-congested segment of Interstate 10 through central Phoenix.