Project to remake busy west Phoenix intersection gets $146M in federal funding

PHOENIX – The federal government is pitching in more than $146 million to remake a congested west Phoenix intersection, officials announced Monday.

The U.S. Department of Transportation funding will go toward the $356.6 million US 60 (Grand Avenue)/35th Avenue/Indian School Road Grade Separation Project.

More than 140,000 vehicles pass through the three-road intersection each day, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation, which is designing the project in coordination with the city of Phoenix and the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG).

The plans call for raising 35th Avenue to create an elevated two-road intersection with Indian School Road above Grand Avenue and the BNSF Railway tracks.

When the project is finished, Grand Avenue traffic will be able to pass through the west Phoenix intersection without cross traffic. In addition, two rail crossings will be eliminated.

Another benefit is that Indian School Road will be widened to facilitate a potential dedicated path for light rail or another type of mass transit, according to Arminta Syed, MAG’s transportation policy and initiatives manager.

“It’s not building the high capacity transit, but it is letting us widen the improved section of Indian School so that in the future, there could be a high capacity transit option there,” Syed told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

The west Phoenix intersection project moved into the final design phase earlier this year. Syed said construction will probably begin in 2026 and take 2-3 years to complete.

Transportation tax to cover rest of Phoenix intersection project

The federal assistance is coming from two grant programs that were bolstered by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: National Infrastructure Project Assistance and Infrastructure for Rebuilding America.

It’s the largest grant that MAG, the Valley’s regional planning agency, has ever been awarded, according to Syed.

“We received an award amount for the entire amount that we had requested in the application, which doesn’t happen a whole lot,” Syed said. “It’s certainly the biggest grant that MAG has ever gotten.”

The federal funding will cover about 40% of the project cost. Money raised through Maricopa County’s half-cent transportation sales tax will take care of the remaining $210 million. That tax is up for renewal during the Nov. 5 general election as Proposition 479 (formerly known as Prop 400).

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Balin Overstolz-McNair contributed to this report.

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