ARIZONA NEWS
Phoenix park-and-ride entrance to close for good for South Mountain Freeway
PHOENIX — The construction of the South Mountain Freeway has claimed its first casualty: The Pecos Road entrance at the park-and-ride at 40th Street and Pecos will close on Jan. 13, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
Park-and-Ride closure map (Courtesy: ADOT)
Transportation officials said the park-and-ride will still be accessible on 40th Street, but the turn lanes along Pecos Road will be in the future freeway’s path, so it has to be closed.
The freeway, which will run 22 miles to connect the East Valley to the West Valley by the Interstate 10, will be an extension of the Loop 202 and is expected to be completed in 2019, three years earlier than originally projected.
Its early completion is projected to save the state about $122 million.
The project will also include a 15-foot-wide multi-use trail along the existing Pecos Road alignment from 40th Street to 17th Avenue.
Plans for the freeway construction took off in March 2015, when the federal government gave final approval for the nearly $2 billion loop extension.
Transportation officials began pouring pavement for the freeway last month.
