No significant change to timeline for South Mountain Freeway

PHOENIX – Responding to a widely circulated media report that has been corrected, the Arizona Department of Transportation notes that there has been no significant change to the timeline for the South Mountain Freeway project, which is still projected to open to traffic in 2020.

On behalf of the project sponsors, the U.S. Department of Justice on Oct. 20 submitted a request to U.S. District Court for a three-week extension to allow time to complete the administrative record as part of the legal action against the freeway project.

Due to the sheer volume of documents, which spans approximately 30 years, more time was needed to ensure the final record is accurately captured. On Oct. 23, the court granted a three-week extension to complete the administrative record on or before Nov. 16.

This extension is not expected to interfere with the planned summer 2016 start of construction for this long-planned freeway. Meanwhile, pre-construction activities in the corridor continue. Completion of the South Mountain Freeway is still expected to be in early 2020.