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South Mountain freeway project could cost $2.4B

AHWATUKEE — The price of a controversial freeway project along South Mountain has gone up 50 percent since May, meaning taxpayers could shell out as much as $2.4 billion for the work.

The new price tag for the proposed Loop 202/South Mountain Freeway came during a Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee meeting last night at the Pecos Community Center. Laurel Arndt, a committee member, quoted the price from a recent report submitted by the Arizona Department of Transportation, which is proposing the project as a solution to East Valley commuter woes.

ADOT has continuously stated that nothing in the proposal has changed, Arndt said, but the price of construction has clearly changed.

“The numbers are real,” Arndt said. “They’re public record now.”

Arndt, who is also a member of the South Mountain Citizens Advisory Team (CAT), said she volunteers as a consultant for decisions on whether the freeway project will move forward. Elements such as air quality, noise, traffic, cultural and preservation impacts are commonly brought up, Arndt said.

“The freeway is an important part of our future whether you are for or against it,” she said.

However, Arndt said Ahwatukee community members still feel somewhat disregarded in the decision making process because the city signed away their right to vote on the freeway, leaving the state with the final say.

“It’s time to get support from people other than the councilman and the mayor,” Arndt said.

In a phone interview, Phoenix City Councilman Greg Stanton, who represents the Ahwatukee area, said he has spent the bulk of his time speaking with residents about the Loop 202/South Mountain Freeway. He says that the majority of Ahwatukee residents are against it.

“The freeway will tear down hundreds of homes and take a big chunk out of South Mountain,” Stanton said.

So far, the proposed project has been split into two segments. Placing the western alignment along 55th Avenue has already been decided, said Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee Chairman Doug Cole.

But residents are still discussing whether to build the east alignment along Pecos Road, he said. The planning committee has voted no on the Pecos Road construction twice, Cole added.

“Building along Pecos Road would lead to the destruction of 400 to 800 homes and could possibly impact several schools and churches along the boundary,” he said.

Cole said the next step is to continue having community meetings discussing the Loop 202/South Mountain Freeway. Although drawing the process out makes the price more expensive, it can also help residents settle on a better route.

“The longer the final decision takes, the better it is for us,” Cole said. “It makes [ADOT] consider alternative options.”

The new cost estimates will be discussed at a public hearing Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Student Union building of South Mountain Community College, 7050 S. 24th St.

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>>Email the editor at aklaw@zoniereport.com.