Drivers to use stretch of future South Mountain Freeway for first time
Feb 4, 2019, 3:30 PM
(ADOT Photo)
(ADOT Photo)
PHOENIX — Drivers will be able to use a stretch of the future Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway for the first time next week, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
By 5 a.m. on Feb. 11, both directions of Pecos Road traffic from 17th Avenue to an area west of Desert Foothills Parkway will be diverted onto the freeway’s future eastbound lanes.
The 2-mile stretch will be reduced one lane in both directions.
Traffic on 17th Avenue south of Cottonwood Lane will also be reduced to one lane in each direction to make more room for construction.
Pecos Road will be closed between 17th Avenue and 24th Street starting at 10 p.m. on Friday as crews set up for the shift.
For first time, motorists will use a stretch of future #SouthMountainFreeway next week when Pecos Rd traffic is shifted to a temporary configuration between 17th Ave & Desert Foothills Pkwy. Read more: https://t.co/4jbgZ7UeeW @ArizonaDOT @StreetsPHX #Ahwatukee #MakingProgress pic.twitter.com/SOtxYa4XyR
— Dustin Krugel (@dustinkrugel) February 4, 2019
During the lane shift, crews will finalize construction of the 17th Avenue interchange and begin building the Desert Foothills Parkway interchange, the last interchange of the South Mountain Freeway project to begin construction.
Once all traffic is shifted to the freeway, Pecos Road will be permanently closed and turned into a 6-mile shared-use path.
The South Mountain Freeway will pick up where the Loop 202 currently ends at Interstate 10 in Chandler and reconnect with I-10 at 59th Avenue in west Phoenix.
The project is expected to be finished by the end of the year.
ADOT estimates that as many as 190,000 vehicles will use the route daily by 2035.
Progress updates as well as information about road closures due to construction can be found on ADOT’s website.
