South Mountain Freeway

PHOENIX – Preliminary work on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway will require permanently closing the Pecos Road entrance to the 40th Street/Pecos Road Park-and-Ride location, which will remain accessible via 40th Street. The Pecos Road entrance will close late Friday, Jan. 13. 

The Arizona Department of Transportation and Connect 202 Partners, the developer responsible for the 22-mile-long freeway corridor, will soon start work to convert the current eastbound lanes of Pecos Road to carry traffic in both directions during construction of the freeway.

PHOENIX – Construction scheduled to start early next year on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway may not be as visual as the 22 miles of uninterrupted asphalt to come, but each task lays a foundation for completing this link between the West Valley and East Valley by the end of 2019.

Crews have laid the first new pavement for the South Mountain Freeway.

PHOENIX – Workers have laid the first pavement for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, pouring and finishing concrete to widen eastbound Pecos Road where it connects with the Loop 202 Santan Freeway at Interstate 10. 

This work, part of preliminary construction that began in September, adds to the shoulder of a half-mile stretch where crews are extending high-occupancy vehicle lanes between the Loop 202 Santan Freeway and 48th Street. 

Next month, this work will move to the median.

PHOENIX – A 300-foot-long cut along the embankments of Interstate 10 near 55th Avenue is the first sign of construction in the West Valley for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

Crews have started utility relocation work that’s needed before the Arizona Department of Transportation can start on the I-10/Loop 202 interchange at 59th Avenue, which is scheduled to begin in 2017.

The utility work includes relocating large Salt River Project (SRP) siphons carrying water under I-10.

PHOENIX – The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a request by Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway opponents for an emergency injunction pending appeal, a ruling that keeps the Arizona Department of Transportation project on track to begin construction of the mainline freeway early next year.

It’s the fourth time courts have rejected attempts to halt construction of this long-planned link between the East Valley and West Valley.

Landscapers are transplanting saguaros weighing up to 5,000 pounds so they can be reused once the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway is complete.

Collaborating with the Frank Lloyd Wright foundation on designs for the South Mountain Freeway took the project team to Taliesin West in Scottsdale.

PHOENIX – In the late 1920s, modern architect Frank Lloyd Wright arrived in Arizona to design a desert resort planned for the foothills of South Mountain, in what is now Ahwatukee.

To produce drawings for the project, Wright and his colleagues built a temporary settlement, called “Ocatillo,” near what is now 32nd Street and two-thirds of a mile north of what will be the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway. The name intentionally misspelled ocotillo, the desert plant that grew in abundance there.

Crews are making significant progress relocating hundreds of native plants, trees and cactuses in the path of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

PHOENIX – When the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway opens, many of the trees, cactuses and other plants that will blend into the surrounding landscape will be transplants from the freeway’s path.

Crews have started removing native vegetation, including saguaros and palo verde trees, in the 22-mile corridor so it can be cared for during construction and eventually replanted alongside the freeway.

PHOENIX – Work on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway remains on track with the U.S. District Court in Phoenix denying a third bid by opponents to halt construction.

An order released Wednesday, Oct. 26, denied the plaintiffs’ motion for an injunction, saying, in part, that they are unlikely to prevail on appeal.

PHOENIX – Nearly 800 people attended three public meetings on preliminary design plans for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, providing input and asking questions that will guide final design of the 22-mile-long link between the West Valley and East Valley.

The meetings, held in Ahwatukee Foothills, Laveen and west Phoenix, provided an opportunity for residents to learn more about the freeway’s alignment, traffic interchanges, noise walls, landscaping and aesthetics.

The South Mountain Freeway will connect people with employment centers in the East Valley and West Valley, benefiting the region’s economy and quality of life.

PHOENIX – Public meetings beginning next week will allow community members to review and provide feedback on updated design plans for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

The project development team, Connect 202 Partners, and Arizona Department of Transportation will hold three meetings on preliminary design plans that have been further developed since they were last circulated for public comment in 2013 along with the Draft Environment Impact Statement:

PHOENIX – Planning for the South Mountain Freeway took into account rapid growth expected in the East Valley and West Valley and the substantial time savings drivers will see from having an alternative to an already strained Interstate 10 through downtown Phoenix.

According to projections for 2035, someone taking the South Mountain Freeway from Gilbert, Chandler or Queen Creek to a job in the West Valley will save up to 25 minutes on average versus traveling on I-10 between the Loop 202 Santan Freeway and the South Mountain Freeway’s connection with I-10 in west Phoenix.

PHOENIX – The first phase of construction on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway will begin on Monday, Sept. 19, with improvements at the Interstate 10/Loop 202 (Santan Freeway) interchange in the East Valley.

PHOENIX – Thirteen years of public involvement helped shape plans for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway. With the Arizona Department of Transportation preparing to begin construction along the 22-mile corridor, the community can continue providing feedback and seeking information by attending meetings, connecting online and using other resources.

Construction will begin on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway in early September after the U.S. District Court in Phoenix dismissed legal challenges against the long-planned corridor.

PHOENIX – Construction of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway is scheduled to begin in early September after the U.S. District Court in Phoenix dismissed legal challenges and ruled that the Arizona Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration completed all steps required to move forward.