L-202 link opening soon
22-mile segment to link West Valley to Chandler
Drivers soon will be able to shuttle between the East and West valleys on the new Loop 202 Ed Pastor Freeway. The 22-mile segment around South Mountain will open “very soon,” ADOT says.
Drivers in metro Phoenix will be able to shuttle between the East and West Valley on the new Loop 202 sometime in the near future, officials said Wednesday.
But at a large gathering to celebrate the completion of the long-awaited $1.7 billion roadway project, those officials would not give a date or time when cars will be allowed on it.
“Very soon you’ll be able to use the Loop 202 Pastor Freeway,” Arizona Department of Transportation Director John Halikowski said. “The freeway will be open to traffic before the end of the year.”
The Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway — the largest freeway project in state history — was officially named the “Congressman Ed Pastor Freeway” in October by the Arizona State Board on Geographic and Historic Names.
ADOT is doing final inspections on the freeway that will bypass downtown Phoenix on the new route that runs 22 miles through Ahwatukee Foothills and Laveen.
Gila River Hotels and Casinos officials anticipate the road opening this weekend, and have advertising planned that will tout the ability to connect all three of their properties on the new road, chief marketing officer Dominic Orozco said.
The new freeway branches off the Interstate 10 in west Phoenix, heading south. It bends to the east between the Gila River Indian Reservation and South Mountain. At Pecos Road,
it turns due east 10.
“The initial traffic projections for the South Mountain Freeway point to reduced travel times,” ADOT spokesman Tom Herrmann said.
The new segment is expected to carry 117,000 vehicles per day in 2020. That compares with about 300,000 a day that passed through the Deck Park Tunnel in downtown Phoenix on I-10 daily in 2018.
It’s unclear how much of the usual I-10 traffic will shift to the new segment, but officials expect the new route to improve congestion citywide.
“This freeway is part of a cog system, and when one section functions better our entire freeway will be better,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said Wednesday. “You will see benefits from this freeway if you live in this section of Phoenix or whether you are coming from the East Valley or West.”
Some work remains to be done, despite the opening of lanes for travel. That includes some rubberized asphalt paving, building an interchange at 32nd Street (which wasn’t part of the original design but was added after community feedback), building a pedestrian bridge and finishing a 6-mile walking/biking path in Ahwatukee.
Some of that work, such as rubberized asphalt paving on I-10, will require closures and restrictions.
The group that built the road, Connect 202 Partners, will provide maintenance for 30 years after completion, according to ADOT.
“As many more people choose Arizona, we are making sure our infrastructure remains some the best in America,” Gov. Doug Ducey said at Wednesday’s event.
He said the state budget includes $6 million for new officers at the Department of Public Safety to patrol the roadway when it opens.
Speakers also thanked the late congressman for whom the road is named. Pastor was Arizona’s first Hispanic member of Congress and served for 23 years. He died on Nov. 27, 2018, at the age of 75.
“Congressman Ed Pastor was someone who worked every day to bring people together, and he was a champion of improving critical infrastructure across our nation,” Ducey said.
The freeway also traverses a significant portion of Pastor’s former congressional district. all the way to Chandler and Interstate
Controversial road years in the making
The controversial project was decades in the making. It was first approved by voters in 1985 as part of Proposition 300. Voters again gave it a green light in 2004 through Proposition 400.
But the project has been contentious. Many Ahwatukee residents opposed the alignment near their neighborhood, the demolition of dozens of homes to make way for the freeway, the construction design that doesn’t put the roadway below grade like other parts of the Valley and the swath that cut through South Mountain Park.
The freeway also survived legal challenges from the Gila River Indian Community and environmental groups.
Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis stood near the podium behind Ducey and other dignitaries at Wednesday’s media event, but declined to comment to media and walked away from a reporter asking questions about the tribe’s position on the road.
Supporters of the road — which creates a second outlet from the Ahwatukee area and lets drivers avoid the congestion of downtown Phoenix — were less vocal.
In 2013, a survey commissioned by We Build Arizona, a construction-industry group, found 64.3% of likely Maricopa County voters who were polled supported the freeway, and only about 20% of respondents opposed it.
Another poll that year asked 300 Ahwatukee Foothills and Laveen residents about the freeway. It found 59% supportive.
The margin of error for both was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
Paul Bentz, a senior vice president of HighGround, the political-consulting firm that conducted the polls, said support was highest in the neighborhoods where the new Loop 202 interchanges with the I-10 in Laveen and Ahwatukee.
He said the most opposition was near the middle of the new freeway, in the heretofore most secluded part of Ahwatukee.
Construction began in 2016, and years of construction traffic on the road also have been the bane of nearby residents.
In October, Channel 3 news in Phoenix reported that drivers caught in construction traffic in Chandler were driving across the landscaping along the 202 and going the wrong way up an on ramp to get out of the gridlock, much to the consternation of law enforcement.
New interchanges in two spots
When motorists use the new freeway, they will see two “half diverging diamond interchanges,” where the 202 intersects Desert Foothills Parkway and 17th Avenue.
The interchanges are the first of their kind in the state. ADOT calls them “an innovative, proven solution to improve safety and mobility for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians,” and says they are simple to use.
Drivers can follow the signage and lane markings, but should know that the interchanges look a bit different than traditional interchanges underneath or above freeways, as the lanes do not cross each other at 90-degree angles.
Another big project coming
The relief offered by the new segment could be short lived. In early 2021, ADOT plans to begin work on the I-10 Broadway Curve. That means construction zones and closures through late 2024.
“That could translate to many closures within the 11 miles of this project over four years, Herrmann said. “We will continue to communicate with businesses and residents in the area to help them understand the work ahead and prepare to minimize the impact.”