| State Loop 202 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by ADOT | ||||
| Length: | 55.00 mi[1] (88.51 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1990 – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| Beltway around Mesa | ||||
| CCW end: | Mini Stack in Phoenix | |||
| US 60 in Mesa Loop 101 in Tempe Loop 101 in Chandler |
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| CW end: | I-10 in Chandler | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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State routes in Arizona
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State Route 202, or Loop 202, is the beltway encompassing the eastern Phoenix, Arizona, United States Metropolitan area. It navigates and surrounds the cities of Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, and Gilbert, making it very vital to the area freeway system. It currently begins at the Mini Stack interchange with Interstate 10 and SR 51, and ends at Interstate 10 near Ahwatukee.
Contents |
When fully complete, plans call for Loop 202 to consist of three sections:
The first section of Loop 202 to open was the Red Mountain Freeway. It runs from the Interstate 10/SR 51 Mini Stack interchange to US 60, and passes over the Salt River and through Tempe and Mesa en route, with an interchange with Loop 101 in Tempe. The final segment of the freeway from Power Road to University Drive opened on July 21, 2008.[2] This opening marked the completion of the original Regional Freeway System as approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 by Proposition 300.[3]
In 2006, this portion of Loop 202 was used to portray a Saudi Arabian superhighway in the 2007 film, The Kingdom. Filming also took place at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and the Arizona State University Polytechnic Campus. The city of Mesa received $40,000 for the usage of the freeway from NBC Universal.[4]
Completed in 2006,[5] the Santan Freeway serves the southeast valley cities of Chandler, Gilbert, and Mesa and provides access to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Beginning at the SuperRedTan interchange with US 60 in Mesa, the freeway runs south and turns westward in Gilbert near the airport. A few miles later the Santan is running in Chandler, where it has a junction with Loop 101 in the vicinity of the Chandler Fashion Center. Following this interchange, the Santan Freeway section of Loop 202 encounters its terminus at a stack interchange with Interstate 10 near Ahwatukee.[6]
The third, unbuilt and most controversial segment of the Loop 202 partial beltway is the South Mountain Freeway. This proposed segment will run from the already complete Interstate 10 and Santan Freeway four-level symmetrical stack interchange westward through Ahwatukee on the current Pecos Road alignment, straddling the border with the Gila River Indian Community. The proposed freeway will then proceed to turn northwesterly and cut directly through three ridges of South Mountain Park; before eventually turning completely northward along the 55th Avenue alignment all the way until its terminus at Interstate 10 in Phoenix, west of downtown.[7] Since South Mountain is considered sacred by the adjacent Gila River Indian Community(GRIC), excavating the right of way in South Mountain Park creates issues with Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act regarding traditional cultural properties (TCP). A TCP is a site that is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places because of its association with cultural practices or beliefs. Consultation on this issue with the GRIC is necessary to complete the technical review of the information contained in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
Originally, it was claimed by ADOT that this route would provide a southerly bypass of the often-congested stretch of I-10 through Downtown Phoenix. The current thinking is that it would address regional mobility needs between the southeast and southwest portions of the Phoenix metropolitan area. New cost estimates out in October raised the total cost of this 17-mile (27 km) section to over 2.6 billion dollars or over $20,000 a foot. If approved, it would rank among the most costly highways ever built.
Arizona voters were being asked to approve an initiative ballot called the TIME Act in November 2008 which would raise the sales tax by an additional 1% (bringing it close to 10% for most jurisdictions) in order to fund this and other transit projects. Although the TIME Act gathered the required number of petition signatures to be put on the ballot, upon review, sufficient signatures were rejected for it to fail to meet the required number and it was not on the ballot. Combining this setback with a reduction in Federal funds from the FHWA has started the reassessment process. The proposed freeway is currently in the draft environmental impact assessment process. At the conclusion of this process, a report will be released by ADOT and the public will have a chance to comment. After these final steps, the fate of the South Mountain Freeway will be revealed by ADOT.[8]
ADOT revealed in a press release in the Arizona Republic on March 9, 2009, that the fate of the South Mountain Freeway will not be decided until at least 2011 due to a need to first balance a $5.3 billion budget shortfall in Arizona's 20-Year Transportation Plan.[9]
Arizona Spur 202 is an unsigned state highway located in Phoenix, Arizona. It begins at Red Mountain Freeway (Loop 202) at Exit 5. It continues west, intersecting the Hohokam Expressway (SR 143) and ends at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. This is an unsigned route, marked by westbound exit signs from Loop 202 as Sky Harbor Boulevard.
The spur route was commissioned in 1993.
The entire route is in Maricopa County.
| Location | Mile |
# | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | 0.00 | I-10 west (Papago Freeway) – Central Phoenix, Los Angeles | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| 0.00 | 1A | I-10 east (Papago Freeway) / SR 51 north (Piestewa Freeway) – Tucson | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| 0.94 | 1B | 24th Street | ||
| 1.98 | 1C | 32nd Street | ||
| 2.72 | 2 | 40th Street, 44th Street | ||
| 3.52 | 3 | SR 143 south (Hohokam Expressway) / Washington Street, McDowell Road | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| 4.11 | 4 | 52nd Street, Van Buren Street | ||
| Tempe | 5.37 | 5 | SR 143 south (Hohokam Expressway) – Sky Harbor Airport | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance |
| 6.41 | 6 | Priest Drive, Center Parkway | ||
| 7.77 | 7 | Scottsdale Road, Rural Road – Arizona State University | ||
| 8.70 | 8 | McClintock Drive | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| Mesa | 9.62 | 9 | Loop 101 (Pima Freeway, Price Freeway) | |
| 10.96 | 10 | Dobson Road | ||
| 11.85 | 11 | Alma School Road | ||
| 12.69 | 12 | McKellips Road | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| 13.32 | 13 | SR 87 (Country Club Drive) – Payson | ||
| 16.30 | 16 | Gilbert Road | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| 17.26 | 17 | McDowell Road | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| 19.12 | 19 | Val Vista Drive | ||
| 20.11 | 20 | Greenfield Road | ||
| 21.32 | 21 | Higley Road | ||
| 22.56 | 22 | Recker Road | ||
| 23.18 | 23A | Power Road | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| 23B | McDowell Road to Power Road | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||
| 25 | McKellips Road | |||
| 26 | Brown Road | |||
| 27 | University Drive | |||
| 28 | Broadway Road | |||
| 30.14 | 30 | US 60 (Superstition Freeway) – Globe, Phoenix | Signed as exits 30A (East) and 30B (West); SuperRedTan Interchange | |
| 31.17 | 31 | Baseline Road | Northbound exit, Southbound entrance | |
| 32.29 | 32 | Guadalupe Road | ||
| 33.88 | 33 | Elliot Road | ||
| 34.65 | 34 | Hawes Road | ||
| Gilbert | 36.66 | 36 | Power Road | Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport ASU Polytechnic Campus |
| 38.85 | 38 | Higley Road | ||
| 40.67 | 40 | Williams Field Road | SanTan Village Mall and Power Center | |
| 41.23 | 41 | Santan Village Parkway | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance, Santan Village Mall and Power Center | |
| 42.84 | 42 | Val Vista Drive | Mercy Gilbert Hospital | |
| 44.01 | 44 | Gilbert Road | Gilbert Crossroads Power Center | |
| Chandler | 45.47 | 45 | Cooper Road | Chandler Municipal Airport |
| 46.10 | 46 | McQueen Road | ||
| 47.92 | 47 | SR 87 (Arizona Avenue) | Chandler Downtown Chandler | |
| 48.74 | 48 | Alma School Road | ||
| 49.90 | 49 | Dobson Road | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| 50.72 | 50A | Loop 101 north (Price Freeway) | ||
| 50.98 | 50B | Price Road | Chandler Fashion Center; also serves Loop 101 frontage roads | |
| 51.75 | 51 | McClintock Drive, Chandler Village Drive | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; Chandler Fashion Center | |
| 52.18 | 52 | Kyrene Road | ||
| 54.10 | 53 | I-10 (Maricopa Freeway) – Tucson, Phoenix | ||
| Ahwatukee
(as Pecos Road) |
55 | 40th Street | At grade intersection | |
| 56 | 32nd Street | At grade intersection | ||
| 57 | 24th Street | At grade intersection | ||
| 59 | Desert Foothills Parkway | At grade intersection | ||
| 61 | 17th Avenue | At grade intersection | ||
| 62 | Chandler Blvd | Temporary street terminus until final alignment is decided |
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