The best plan for freeway: Just scrap it!

The Arizona Republic
Jan. 26, 2006 12:00 AM

Here is a plan for dealing with the South Mountain Freeway: Scrap it.

I am not against freeways, and I would even be willing to pay a little more to get them built faster and wider.

However, I have a problem with the price tag, the controversy and the timing.

Interstate 17 from Loop 101 north is a nightmare and getting worse seemingly by the minute as home construction explodes around the Deer Valley-Anthem area. Yet ADOT does not have any immediate plans for that stretch, and it is a vital link to Prescott and Flagstaff.

I have a feeling most of the Valley would be much happier if I-17 through Anthem and I-10 from Pecos to Riggs were widened to at least four lanes in each direction in the next five years.

In addition, build a freeway connector to I-8 west of the metro area for bypass traffic, accelerate plans to widen the Broadway Curve and U.S. 60 around I-10 and perhaps toss the South Mountain freeway idea altogether.

- Cary L. Tyler
Gilbert

Build truck bypass

I am an Ahwatukee resident and have been reading about Loop 202 (South Mountain Freeway). What I've come to notice is that most of the letters in favor of the freeway are usually from people who work on the west side.

My question to them is why not live on the west side? It would save you gas and, most of all, precious time. I get a kick out of the people who work downtown and say they will use it. That makes a lot of sense, to exit at 51st or 77th Avenue and then fight traffic back to downtown.

I have read a suggestion to create a truck bypass using Interstate 8 and Route 85. A bypass would be the answer.

Wouldn't it make sense to use and update the existing truck bypass? It seems it would be much cheaper to build where you don't have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to uproot people from their homes.

Also putting it farther out of town might help our pollution problem. The land ADOT already owns is very valuable. It could be sold for millions to home builders and small retail. Maybe we've just saved and made enough money to fund the widening of I-10 and I-17.  

- Jerry Piotrowski
Phoenix