Laveen lobbies for Loop 202 alignment
City says its plans for a commerical core could be hurt if freeway doesn't use 55th Avenue alignment

Mel Meléndez
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 19, 2005 12:00 AM

Plans to create a thriving commercial core in Laveen could all be in vain should a federal study recommend shifting the final phase of the proposed Loop 202 expansion away from the rural community.

"The city incorporated this alignment into its general plan for redeveloping the area," said Peter Valenzuela, hired by the recently formed Citizens Supporting a 55th Avenue Alignment Coalition to lobby for the 55th Avenue juncture. "We need this for an economic core base in Laveen."

The proposed loop, which officials say will help alleviate traffic pressure on Interstate 10 and provide a route that will bypass downtown Phoenix around South Mountain from Maryvale to Ahwatukee, is still in the planning stages and years from becoming a reality.

Still, resident groups and others are lobbying now for their preferred route, somewhere through Laveen on the west side, so that when and if this leg of Loop 202 gets built, it is where they want it.

A 1985 study commissioned by the Arizona Department of Transportation recommended building the 22-mile South Mountain Freeway along Pecos Road in Ahwatukee and around South Mountain to connect it to I-10 at 55th Avenue. Pecos Road would handle the east-west traffic flow, while 55th Avenue would manage it north and south. Budget woes stalled the plans.

Meanwhile, Phoenix city officials and Laveen Village property owners used the 55th Avenue alignment, which was approved by the state's transportation board in 1988, as the basis for their ongoing redevelopment plans, including a commercial village core.

Fast-growing Laveen Village has about 10,000 residents and extends from the Salt River to the South Mountain Preserve between 27th and 75th avenues.

Federal study

The current setback stems from a $6 million federal study launched in 2001 that requires the state to look into environmental impacts and consider changes in traffic, population, housing and commercial development before it can secure federal funding.

Alternate routing plans must also be reviewed before the state can receive federal funding to help pay for the nearly $1.1 billion South Mountain Freeway. Officials hope to complete the study by 2007, but a draft with preliminary results, including a route recommendation, is due late next year.

More information on the freeway is available at (602) 712-7006 or www.southmountainfreeway.com.

Many residents and property owners share concerns about the freeway's impact to their home values, quality of life, and businesses. Ahwatukee residents have already vented their anger at community meetings regarding the proposed freeway, which could see about 145,000 vehicles a day, according to a recent survey conducted by the Maricopa Association of Governments.

"This is always a concern, because everyone acknowledges the need for freeways but nobody wants them near their properties," said Matt Burdick, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Transportation. "But we need to build it somewhere."

Plan to ease congestion

Phoenix consistently ranks in the Top 10 of most-congested cities in the country.

The proposed Loop 202 extension would help alleviate that. It's part of the final leg of the nearly 78-mile Loop 202, which includes the Red Mountain and San Tan freeways, now near completion.

"Because of the phenomenal growth in the East and West Valleys, this would definitely help mitigate traffic," Burdick said. "But the federal study requires us to consider other options before deciding on the best one."

Initially, 37 options were reviewed before state transit officials whittled them down to the best three route plans using federal and state criteria, including future growth and traffic projections. They are the 55th Avenue option, a 71st Avenue alignment, or connecting at Loop 101 (about 99th Avenue).

Phoenix city officials back the 55th Avenue alignment.

'A lot of concern'

"We've been planning that (Laveen) area based on that 55th Avenue alignment, so naturally there's a lot of concern about a possible shift elsewhere," said Don Herp, Phoenix's deputy street transportation director. "I don't think the city would just accept another alignment, because there's too much riding on this. We would contest it somehow."

Plans on the southwestern side would affect the Gila River Reservation or South Mountain Park.

"We don't know what they'll decide, so we're already looking into ways to mitigate the impacts to the park," Burdick said.

The federal study also requires officials to consider a no-build scenario. Few of those following the issue view this as a viable choice because of the Valley's projected growth.

The goal is to break ground on the project by 2009 and complete the freeway by 2015. Building just a portion of the freeway is not an option, officials said.

Voters approved a regional transportation plan that includes more than $1 billion toward the South Mountain Freeway. If the federal study recommends not building it, the money would be used for other projects, Burdick said.

"In the past, the issue was that we had the corridor but not the money," he said. "Now the issue is we have the money, but not a corridor."


Reach the reporter at mel.melendez@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8212.