After vigorous opposition from city officials and Ahwatukee Foothills residents, the Arizona Department of Transportation has removed an interchange at 32nd Street from its South Mountain Freeway design, sparing 100 to 150 homes and condominiums.

But even with the on- and off-ramps gone, the proposed highway could still consume some homes in that area and hundreds more elsewhere in Ahwatukee.

"If folks don't feel that it's needed, obviously we're not going to build (the interchange)," ADOT spokesman Matt Burdick said.

The original freeway design in 1988 had no interchange at 32nd Street. In the years since, the city built neighborhoods and schools in the area.

When ADOT made available last month the first aerial photographs showing the potential footprint, news that the freeway could plow through homes near 32nd Street and dump highway traffic just a few blocks south of Desert Vista High School sparked worry among homeowners and educators.

The prospect of adding freeway traffic to the mix of commuting students around Desert Vista High School unnerved parents and educators.

"It's a very heavily trafficked area anyway, and obviously having a freeway interchange at that location would just make it even more hazardous," said Jim Strogen, principal of nearby Lagos Elementary School and a member of the South Mountain Citizens Advisory Team.

Even with the ramps removed, more than 200 homes in Ahwatukee remain in the freeway's path. That number could grow if residents request that the freeway be built below ground level, Burdick said. Below-grade highways require a wider berth to accommodate drainage systems, he said.

Currently, the freeway is designed to run at ground level along what is now Pecos Road. Ahwatukee representatives to the South Mountain Citizens Advisory Team have asked that ADOT consider building the freeway below-grade in parts of Ahwatukee.

If the freeway is built, it's not yet certain what would become of 32nd Street, which now intersects with Pecos. It could be made into a cul-de-sac, or be extended onto the Gila River Reservation pending discussions with that community, Burdick said.

Reach the reporter at corinne.purtill@arizonarepublic.com