AVONDALE – A freeway that is more than 10 years from being built has the attention of southwest Valley cities.
Avondale, in particular, has concerns about where Arizona 801, known as the Interstate 10 reliever, will be built.
The Arizona Department of Transportation is in the process of selecting the corridor through which the freeway will run.
Goodyear, Avondale and Phoenix are directly affected. Buckeye will be affected by a more westerly leg of the freeway.
ADOT is considering one of three corridors for the route through Goodyear, Avondale and Phoenix:
• South of Broadway Road.
• About a quarter-mile north of Southern Avenue.
• About a quarter-mile north of the Gila River.
Avondale strongly favors the third choice.
"Our concern is if you select one of the more northern alignments, it will have the effect of bisecting the city," said David Fitzhugh, Avondale’s assistant city manager.
Developers already have plans for housing in those areas, he said.
"Our interest is to minimize the impact of those communities that are being planned at this point," Fitzhugh said.
Avondale has won the support of Goodyear and Phoenix.
The Goodyear City Council recently adopted a resolution recommending the Gila River route.
A Phoenix staff report recommends supporting Avondale’s preference between 107th and 91st avenues. The report proposes the freeway take a more northerly route from 91st to 59th avenues.
A selection report, with recommendations, will be ready in the fall, said Diane D’Angelo, a spokeswoman for ADOT.
"The plus part of doing all this, if we do it on the front end, then by the time the freeway comes about, all these issues have been worked out," she said.
"It’s not about one player imposing that entity’s will on everybody else."
Construction of the six-lane freeway is on ADOT’s schedule for 2021-26.
It is designed to connect the planned Loop 303 with the planned West Valley extension of Loop 202.
Arizona 801 would lessen traffic on I-10.
The freeway also would allow vehicles to bypass downtown Phoenix and connect to the southern end of Loop 202 and thus to I-10 headed toward Tucson.
Construction is years away, but now is the time to prepare, Avondale’s Fitzhugh said.
"Our city is growing. We’ve trying to ensure a well-developed city (striking) a balance between different uses," he said.
Dennis Godfrey
The Arizona Republic
Article can be found: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0403wvfreeway0403.html
