South Mountain Freeway

Personnel from more than a dozen agencies have benefited from training at properties that ADOT acquired along the 22-mile-long corridor for the South Mountain Freeway.

PHOENIX – Because of structures the Arizona Department of Transportation has acquired in the future path of the South Mountain Freeway, probationary firefighters with the Rural/Metro Fire Department were able to practice what’s known as a mayday scenario, wearing blacked-out masks to simulate being trapped in a building filled with smoke.

PHOENIX – With construction of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway scheduled to begin later this summer, several city of Phoenix roadways along the 22-mile corridor are now officially part of the state highway system.

As of this week, the South Mountain Freeway right of way has the designation State Route 202, meaning roadways in that area are now controlled by the Arizona Department of Transportation. That’s the result of an Arizona State Transportation Board resolution developed in cooperation with the city of Phoenix and Maricopa County.

PHOENIX – After beginning work along the southern alignment of the future Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, crews next week will start assessing soil conditions and the depth of groundwater along the western alignment.

On Monday, June 27, workers using drills will start on the embankment slope along eastbound Interstate 10 from the 59th Avenue on-ramp to the 51st Avenue off-ramp.

PHOENIX – Preparing for construction of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, Arizona Department of Transportation crews with drills and backhoes will begin assessing the condition of soil and rock as well as the depth of groundwater along the freeway alignment.

The work, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday and continue for several months, will help engineers plan the freeway’s pavement, bridges, walls and drainage structures.

PHOENIX – Along the 22-mile corridor where the South Mountain Freeway will be built over the next few years, archaeologists are working to gather and recover items and information from the past that may have cultural or historic significance.

At one point along the freeway footprint, archaeologists are systematically digging 5-foot-deep trenches looking for signs that ancient people lived or farmed there. At other sites, archaeologists have found pottery pieces and 19th-century shotgun shells, among other items, and also documented historic petroglyphs.

The Arizona Department of Transportation is currently conducting archaeological work in advance of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway project

PHOENIX – Rigorous analysis that included extensive public involvement, an overwhelming need for the project and a lack of viable alternatives are among the reasons a federal judge should dismiss lawsuits challenging the South Mountain Freeway, the Arizona Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration contend in a legal filing.

ADOT and the Federal Highway Administration are scheduled to present oral arguments on May 11 in U.S. District Court in Phoenix as a judge considers motions for summary judgment in the case.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation will deliver the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway three years sooner and at a cost savings topping $100 million by taking an innovative approach to selecting the team to design, build and maintain the highway.

“This is another example of government working at the speed of business to save taxpayer money and improve the lives of Arizonans,” said Governor Doug Ducey. "Thanks to hard work and collaboration, the South Mountain Freeway will be completed under budget and faster than expected.”

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has selected a preferred developer for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, which remains on track for construction to begin in summer 2016 as the largest-ever highway project in the state.

This is the first highway public-private partnership in Arizona. While the South Mountain Freeway will not be a toll road, the public-private partnership will allow ADOT to construct the project at an accelerated pace and at a lower cost.

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.

PHOENIX – Vacant properties owned by the Arizona Department of Transportation will soon begin to be removed to clear a path for the future Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, which is the last piece to complete the Loop 202 system and provide a direct link between the West Valley and East Valley. Nearly 200 vacant properties owned by the state will be razed in advance of freeway construction, which is set to begin in summer 2016.

PHOENIX – While the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration have not yet had an opportunity to review in detail the legal action filed against the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, the agencies are confident that any legal challenges will find that the law was followed in coming to a decision to construct this long-planned freeway.

PHOENIX – While the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration have not yet had an opportunity to review in detail the legal action filed against the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, the agencies are confident that any legal challenges will find that the law was followed in coming to a decision to construct this long-planned freeway.

PHOENIX – As part of the process of moving toward the 2016 start of construction for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, Arizona Department of Transportation crews will begin the preliminarily geotechnical investigation in early May, assessing the condition of soil, rock and depth of groundwater along the freeway alignment.

The Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway has received final approval from the Federal Highway Administration, which means ADOT can now move the project forward.

PHOENIX – The Valley’s Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, proposed by regional planners since the 1980s, has received final approval from the Federal Highway Administration, paving the way for the Arizona Department of Transportation to move the project forward.

The Record of Decision, signed March 5 by the Federal Highway Administration, grants the final approval necessary for ADOT to begin the process of acquiring right of way, complete the design and begin construction of the 22-mile-long freeway to serve the metro Phoenix region.

The comment deadline for the proposed South Mountain Freeway has been extended to Dec. 29. An addendum to the Final Environmental Impact Statement is now available for review.

PHOENIX – With the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration issuing an addendum – called an Errata – to the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed South Mountain Freeway, the comment period has been extended to Dec. 29 for final comments before a Record of Decision is issued in 2015.

PHOENIX – As part of the public review period for the South Mountain Freeway Final Environmental Impact Statement, it was noted that 10 comments submitted in 2013 on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement were inadvertently not relayed to the study team for incorporation into the Final Environmental Impact Statement, which was released Sept. 26.