{"id":4791,"date":"2016-10-06T09:15:07","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T16:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.finditinlaveen.com\/?p=4791"},"modified":"2016-11-04T09:20:04","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T16:20:04","slug":"laveen-shows-strong-turnout-to-freeway-design-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finditinlaveen.com\/laveen-shows-strong-turnout-to-freeway-design-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Laveen shows strong turnout to freeway design meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article first appeared in the October 2016 SMDN<\/a><\/p>\n

About 200 community members turned out in late September to get their first look at design plans for the 22-mile South Mountain Freeway that will travel through Laveen at about 61st Avenue.<\/p>\n

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There was more than one pair of overalls and several cowboy hats dotting the audience, which included everyone from community leaders to farmers to local business owners, all eager to learn how the freeway project will unfold over the next three years with completion expected in 2019.\u2028 Local residents asked questions about bridges, interchanges, design styles, pedestrian and bicycle access along the thoroughfare, as well as how traffic will be redirected during construction, particularly along Southern Avenue, Baseline Road and Dobbins Avenue, the main east to west corridors in Laveen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we had excellent attendance \u2013 pretty much standing room only,\u201d said Dustin Krugel, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Transportation. \u201cWe had about 59 questions and 40 comments submitted during the evening. I think it was overwhelmingly positive. I heard from a lot of people that were saying \u2026 \u2018let\u2019s build the freeway.\u2019”\"adot-meeting\"<\/p>\n

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Two hundred members of the community attended a recent ADOT meeting that helped answer questions regarding design and other items for the South Moun- tain Freeway, which began construction last month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Krugel said the questions at the Laveen meeting focused on drainage and flood zones, noise and sound walls, Baseline Road and right-of-way questions, including acquisition and demolition. There will be about 11 miles of sound walls as part of the design, he said, though the public\u2019s input could influence changes in the design. Another spokesman from ADOT noted that not all of right-of-ways have been secured for the entire 22-mile stretch but that the process is underway.<\/p>\n

While residents in Laveen appear to mostly support the project opponents filed separate lawsuits seeking to stop the long-planned freeway arguing that ADOT, the Federal Highway Administration and other government entities had failed to adequately address the environmental and cultural impact of the roadway.\u2028 In August, U.S. District Court Judge Diane\u2028J. Humetewa ruled in favor of transportation officials and construction started in September.<\/p>\n

Representatives from the Gila River \u2028Indian Community and P.A.R.C. (Protecting Arizona\u2019s Resources and Children) and their affiliated groups say they plan to pursue an appeal through the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal in San Francisco. If they are unsuccessful in their bid to legally stop the freeway there, the next step would be to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

At least one person asked about the legal status of the project during the September meeting, and ADOT officials answered that construction will continue unless there is a reversal in the current legal status.<\/p>\n

Highlights of the presentation by the Arizona Department of Transportation and business partners:<\/p>\n