Corinne Purtill
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 22, 2005 12:00 AM
At the South Mountain Citizens Advisory Team meeting Thursday, the Arizona Department of Transportation presented a preliminary draft of the 22- to 26-mile freeway's footprint, including the land the routes could consume and the freeway's elevation.
The draft design includes a series of aerial photographs taken in early 2005 outlining the land that could need to be acquired if the freeway is built. It is detailed enough to show individual houses and businesses that stand in the way of the freeway's proposed alignment.
In Ahwatukee Foothills, the freeway could affect dozens of homes along
Pecos Road, built in the years since the freeway was first approved.
"These are not inexpensive propositions that we're talking about," ADOT spokesman Matt Burdick said.
Pecos Park, the Park and Ride lot at 40th Street and Pecos Road, Desert Vista High School and Kyrene de los Lagos Elementary School would not be affected, Burdick said.
The design would clip the western portion of South Mountain Regional Park. The plan calls for cuts of up to 800 feet wide and 200 feet deep in South Mountain's western end.
ADOT will be shopping the preliminary design at a public meeting next month in Ahwatukee. (See box.)
"There's going to be homes that we have to acquire if it's built," Burdick said. The proposed Loop 202 would link Interstate 10 in Ahwatukee to the West Valley. In the West Valley, ADOT has proposed connecting the western leg of the freeway through 55th Avenue, 71st Avenue or Loop 101.
The preliminary design is the most detailed review of the freeway's potential impact since it was approved by the Maricopa Association of Governments in 1988.
At the meeting Thursday, officials from ADOT and the Federal Highway Administration cautioned the group that the design is a early version of the freeway's layout that could be changed after input from cities and residents. There is also the possibility that the freeway could not be built.
However, designers indicated that the outline is not radically different from the freeway ADOT would like to build.
"Assuming something is built, this (design) is probably pretty similar" to the freeway's final footprint, said Christopher Clary-Lemon, a transportation engineer working with ADOT on the project.
Though Phoenix has declared its opposition to any freeway presence on South Mountain Regional Park, the only other way to link the two portions of the freeway would be on land owned by the Gila River Indian Community. ADOT has been in discussions with the community about possibly relocating both that portion of the freeway and the southern leg now planned for Pecos Road. On Thursday, Lt. Gov. Mary Thomas said the community has made no decision on whether to allow the freeway on its land.
The preliminary design did not come as a shock to members of the committee from Ahwatukee Foothills.
"It's the footprint that's been there for 15 years. There's no surprise," team member Kris Black said.
However, the committee is still cautiously eyeing the freeway's potential look in Ahwatukee, particularly the elevation. As of now, many of the interchanges suggested are elevated, in order to accommodate drainage issues, Burdick said.
"We'd always hoped there would be a depression or subdepression," said committee member Laurel Arndt, referring to the freeway's elevation.
In Ahwatukee, the draft design calls for elevated interchanges at 25th Avenue, 17th Avenue, Desert Foothills Parkway, 24th Street, 32nd Street and 40th Street.
ADOT may remove the 32nd Street interchange after receiving feedback from Phoenix saying it was not necessary, Burdick said. There has also been discussion of shifting the 25th Avenue interchange west to 27th Avenue.
Burdick said that ADOT could modify the number of elevated interchanges based on input from residents and cities. Below-grade freeways are more expensive than elevated ones, and could require more land acquisition, he said.
Determining the freeway's alignment is the department's first priority, Burdick said. If the freeway is built, ADOT will work with communities on its design.
"Let's not put the cart before the horse," Burdick said. "We need to find out first, are we building something."
"These are not inexpensive propositions that we're talking about," ADOT spokesman Matt Burdick said.
Pecos Park, the Park and Ride lot at 40th Street and Pecos Road, Desert Vista High School and Kyrene de los Lagos Elementary School would not be affected, Burdick said.
The design would clip the western portion of South Mountain Regional Park. The plan calls for cuts of up to 800 feet wide and 200 feet deep in South Mountain's western end.
ADOT will be shopping the preliminary design at a public meeting next month in Ahwatukee. (See box.)
"There's going to be homes that we have to acquire if it's built," Burdick said. The proposed Loop 202 would link Interstate 10 in Ahwatukee to the West Valley. In the West Valley, ADOT has proposed connecting the western leg of the freeway through 55th Avenue, 71st Avenue or Loop 101.
The preliminary design is the most detailed review of the freeway's potential impact since it was approved by the Maricopa Association of Governments in 1988.
At the meeting Thursday, officials from ADOT and the Federal Highway Administration cautioned the group that the design is a early version of the freeway's layout that could be changed after input from cities and residents. There is also the possibility that the freeway could not be built.
However, designers indicated that the outline is not radically different from the freeway ADOT would like to build.
"Assuming something is built, this (design) is probably pretty similar" to the freeway's final footprint, said Christopher Clary-Lemon, a transportation engineer working with ADOT on the project.
Though Phoenix has declared its opposition to any freeway presence on South Mountain Regional Park, the only other way to link the two portions of the freeway would be on land owned by the Gila River Indian Community. ADOT has been in discussions with the community about possibly relocating both that portion of the freeway and the southern leg now planned for Pecos Road. On Thursday, Lt. Gov. Mary Thomas said the community has made no decision on whether to allow the freeway on its land.
The preliminary design did not come as a shock to members of the committee from Ahwatukee Foothills.
"It's the footprint that's been there for 15 years. There's no surprise," team member Kris Black said.
However, the committee is still cautiously eyeing the freeway's potential look in Ahwatukee, particularly the elevation. As of now, many of the interchanges suggested are elevated, in order to accommodate drainage issues, Burdick said.
"We'd always hoped there would be a depression or subdepression," said committee member Laurel Arndt, referring to the freeway's elevation.
In Ahwatukee, the draft design calls for elevated interchanges at 25th Avenue, 17th Avenue, Desert Foothills Parkway, 24th Street, 32nd Street and 40th Street.
ADOT may remove the 32nd Street interchange after receiving feedback from Phoenix saying it was not necessary, Burdick said. There has also been discussion of shifting the 25th Avenue interchange west to 27th Avenue.
Burdick said that ADOT could modify the number of elevated interchanges based on input from residents and cities. Below-grade freeways are more expensive than elevated ones, and could require more land acquisition, he said.
Determining the freeway's alignment is the department's first priority, Burdick said. If the freeway is built, ADOT will work with communities on its design.
"Let's not put the cart before the horse," Burdick said. "We need to find out first, are we building something."