With new stretch finally done, Loop 202 is ready to ride
Last section through Mesa opens today

by Art Thomason - Jul. 21, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Loop 202 opened Monday, drastically cutting commuting time while providing a gateway to businesses and communities in the rapidly growing southeast Valley.

The $2.3 billion freeway arcs 56 miles from Interstate 10 in Chandler, east through Gilbert and north into Mesa before looping west to Arizona 51 in Phoenix, allowing drivers to avoid the crowded U.S. 60 and Loop 101.

For commuters like Anissa Blanchard of north Scottsdale, it represents time saved.

"Being able to get off the 101 sooner and using the 202 to get to my job in Chandler will save me up to 45 minutes," said Blanchard, a chiropractic assistant. "I'll also use it to go to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport for lunch with friends who work there. I'm really glad it's open."

Loop 202 has opened in stretches over the past several years, with the final 4.5-mile segment finishing the loop in northeast Mesa.

John Barry says he will knock 10 to 15 minutes off his trips to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and downtown Phoenix as Gateway Airport's marketing manager.

"Think about all the people from east Mesa or Apache Junction who'll no longer have to use U.S. 60 to Loop 101 on their journey to north Phoenix," he said. "The 202 will get them there easier and faster."

It will also ease the drive to Arizona State University Polytechnic, at Gateway Airport, the school's fastest-growing campus with 9,000 students.

"Loop 202 fosters growth of an urban environment that is essential to the growth and vitality of our campus," said Keith Hjelmstad, university vice president and dean of the College of Technology and Innovation.

The biggest bump could go to regional projects that could bring money, people and prominence to the southeast Valley and Pinal County.

Mike Hutchinson, manager of 275 square miles of state trust land abutting east Mesa, said the freeway could accelerate build-out in the area, which some planners believe could become home to as many as 1.3 million people over the next half-century.

"It's a great day," said Hutchinson, former Mesa city manager. "Over time, it will help all the cities in eastern Maricopa and Pinal counties. It's a real plus."

Mesa is also working to build an internationally known destination with high-rise corporate office buildings, world-class resorts and an efficient mix of transportation and housing around Gateway Airport near Power and Williams Field roads.

Pinal County Supervisor Sandie Smith estimates that Loop 202 will begin opening her rural county to badly needed economic diversification and higher-paying jobs.

"Improving access and shortening the time of travel helps us bring in light-industrial and high-tech companies - the type of industry we need," she said.

Acknowledging that there was more than two decades of Loop 202 planning and building, state officials are treating its completion with a sense of awe.

Timothy Tait, an ADOT community-relations director, called it "the end of an important chapter in the Valley's development" and part of "a vision unimaginable in most urban areas. Beyond the 17 inches of pavement that makes a roadway, we are building connections between people, communities and economies."

Planning started in 1985, after voters approved a sales tax of one-half of 1 percent to fund 231 miles of freeways as part of a 20-year transportation-improvement program.

A decade later, however, little concrete had flowed and critics blamed poor management and inflated funding forecasts.

The holdup, countered transportation officials, was due to an economic downturn and higher-than-expected land prices for rights of way. The debate spurred political and financial maneuvering to get the system on track.

Its completion, Barry said, couldn't come at a better time.

"I'm confident it will save a lot of folks time and fuel," he said.