Last leg of Loop 202 must be completed

The Arizona Republic
Jan. 17, 2006 12:00 AM

From all the articles and letters that continue to appear in this and other newspapers, it seems too many people believe that the South Mountain segment of Loop 202 is meant to be a benefit exclusively for those who live in Ahwatukee and the foothills.

Corinne Purtill told us in her Arizona Republic article Nov. 16, "Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who represents the Ahwatukee-Foothills area, has come out publicly against the Pecos Road alignment of the South Mountain Freeway, saying the road would cost too many homes for too little benefit."

According to newspaper accounts, a freeway built on the Pecos Road alignment would affect as many as 250 lots, most with homes on them.

"That level of disruption is too much to offset the benefits of having another route from Ahwatukee Foothills around South Mountain and downtown Phoenix," Hayworth said.

Apparently, not even Hayworth understands that this stretch of freeway was never intended to be the private domain of extreme south Phoenix. As part of the outer loop, it was designed to relieve some of the congestion clogging Interstate 10 and central Phoenix.

Already, vehicles traveling from northern Arizona to California can bypass Phoenix by entering the outer loop at Beardsley Road and skirting the city to where it meets I-10 at 91st Avenue. People traveling from Tucson to Fountain Hills or Payson can use the completed part of the Santan Freeway and Loop 101 to avoid the traffic problems on Interstate 10 north of Chandler Boulevard as well as all of U.S. 60.

Those who live in the far Southeast Valley can now enter Loop 202 at Power Road and, by taking the 101 north, drive to northern Arizona and never need to see downtown Phoenix. Soon enough, people will be able to travel from Globe and Apache Junction to Tucson via the Santan Freeway and be able to stay off U.S. 60 completely and enter I-10 six miles south of the 60.

But when these same people want to go west, from Tucson and all points east to Los Angeles or just from the Southeast Valley to Glendale to see the Cardinals or the Coyotes play, they cannot yet do that without entering the quagmire of the freeway traffic in Phoenix, further polluting Phoenix's horrible air. The missing link is the last portion of the outer loop, the part from Pecos Road and I-10 back to I-10 in the far West Valley.

While it is unfortunate that ADOT has left the South Mountain portion of the outer loop until last, that must not prevent them from finishing the job they were ordered to do by the taxpayers in 1985.

Leigh Rivers can be reached at leighrivers2000@yahoo.com.