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22 new miles of freeway are now open with easier access to some hiking ground especially around South Mtn.

Sad they didn't have a big public walk/bike/run celebration like they did when the San Tan Section opened in June 2006.

Amazing it got done so quickly and hopefully the build/agreement does not come back to bite us as "It’s Arizona’s first highway project built using a public-private partnership, which combined design, construction and maintenance in a single contract. Connect 202 Partners, the developer chosen for the project, will maintain the South Mountain Freeway for the next 30 years under the agreement"

30 years is a long time especially if any corners were cut.

sam_hikes wrote:built using a public-private partnership

Does that mean there will be tolls?

We took a drive on it today to visit REI. I am not happy about the traffic counts that it will add to Baseline/51st Avenue but I am glad there is finally another alternative to Baseline.

@sam_hikes
So, easier access to some SM hiking ground.

“Sad they didn't have a big public walk/bike/run celebration like they did when the San Tan Section opened in June 2006.”

I was looking for for some info on an inaugural hike but no go!!

Hiked today and it’s kind strange seeing traffic at the west end if the park!!

Did an Alta walkabout and took a little detour to snap a few photos of the nice freeway and those $750k homes which google earth indicates that some are only 250ft from the freeway.

[ photoset ]

Google maps already has the new freeway listed but not updated as being open.

Drove the entire stretch from end-end and back to Chandler...there are lots of trucks driving it already...

A very pretty drive with some amazing views of the Estrella's as well as South Mtn. Hopefully people won't be stopping along the freeway for pictures.

@sam_hikes
Already saw some picture takers Sunday afternoon!!! Wait til the Estrellas get snow. Last time the mountains got snow the picture takers came out in droves.

Damn those people who like to take pretty pictures of the mountains!

@chumley

There were a lot of picture takers on Saturday afternoon too.

The Ahwatukee portion has been open for a few weeks now, and they have already jackhammered out and replaced short sections of the ramps at both 24th St & Desert Foothills. We’ll see how durable the rest of the freeway is. Pretty much the entire roadbed is crushed rock, but other than the ramps and overpasses, there’s no concrete under the asphalt.

I had seriously considered those homes in Taylor Morrison development, but the floorplan and options I was looking at had the price at $849K, and that did not include the lot premium. So instead of spending $900K on a new house, I spent a couple hundred grand less in a different neighborhood and still ended up less than 500’ from the new freeway. Can’t hear it from my house or yard though, I think I’m high enough on the hill above it to where the noise doesn’t carry. If I walk to the cliff edge about 200’ from my house, I can hear traffic, but it sounds the same as the traffic did when it was still Pecos, so no big deal.

It cuts at least 20 minutes off my drive to Vegas. I was already happy when the new I-11 in NV cut 20 minutes off the drive last year, so now I save 40 minutes each way compared to just a year ago.

Let's play a new hiking game: "how much money did you spend on your house?"
I'll go second ... under $150k. I'm just a poor schlep with a government job.

here's an interesting item or NOT.

if I want to say travel from Chandler to say Anthem and you can take the loop 101 all the way around to I-17 or you could take I-10 to I-17... turns out to be the same distance

noticed same thing with the new South Mtn freeway so those truckers going from Tucson to LAX are not saving any miles taking the new freeway but it's likely going to be faster and less congested at least for now!

It had a fair amount of truck traffic early this morning. And the Laveen side had a lot more passenger traffic than the Ahwatukee side did. The truckers will like using it to avoid going through the heart of Phoenix, especially since there’s already truck stops near both ends of it, but there probably won’t be a ton of people who use it to commute between the southeast Valley and the west side, simply because I don’t think there are a whole lot of people who live in one area and work in the other. My drive to the Phoenix tank farm used to take about 45 minutes on I-10 that time of day, using the 202 this morning cut it to 15-20 minutes.

Ahwatukee only has about 700 acres of developable land left, so local resident use on that side probably won’t increase much over the years. I’m not sure how much land is left on the Laveen side that would increase local use over there, but probably more.

Most of the Calabrea neighborhood sits closer to the freeway than the new Taylor Morrison development, and most of those houses are well over a $1 million. I’m hoping the sound wall works well for them, because they are sandwiched between that wall on the south and the mountain on the north, which could echo sound right back at them.

LindaAnn wrote:The Ahwatukee portion has been open for a few weeks now, and they have already jackhammered out and replaced short sections of the ramps at both 24th St & Desert Foothills. We’ll see how durable the rest of the freeway is. Pretty much the entire roadbed is crushed rock, but other than the ramps and overpasses, there’s no concrete under the asphalt.

Neither of these sound very promising.

@big_load Agreed!

LindaAnn wrote:I’m hoping the sound wall works well for them, because they are sandwiched between that wall on the south and the mountain on the north, which could echo sound right back at them.

Having lived within 200' of a freeway at three times in my life I've experienced three different ways:
1. No walls (on either side) between residences and freeway
Result: Mostly noise from tires but not as loud as one would think
2. A wall within 50' of residence
Result: VERY noisy from echoing between walls on either side of the freeway
3. A 20' earth berm at the end of our yard & freeway within 100' of berm (wall on opposite side of freeway)
Result: VERY quiet, only heard vehicles with loud exhausts, Harley's and Police/Fire sirens.
And weird as it may seem, our neighbors across the street (farther away from the freeway) heard constant traffic noise.

So... if I were to live next to a freeway again, I'd wish for an earth berm at the end of my property.
The only drawback we experienced?
A gal driving at well over 100 mph flew over the dip in the center of the median, across the lanes on 'our' side of the freeway, up the earth bank of our next door neighbors' yard, flew over the fence at the top of the berm, in the air 60' across our backyard, landing about 15' up a 20' tall apple tree, destroying the tree in the process.

We not only lost the tree, but ended up with foot-deep ruts across our back yard by an inexperienced tow truck driver... before the wrecker service owner showed up and used a large boom truck to lift the vehicle back over the fence.

It happened around 2 am and we didn't hear a thing... so we have a cop ringing our doorbell and telling us "you have a car in your lilac tree" to which all I think of to respond was "We don't have a lilac tree" then frustratingly his retort was "well whatever it is, there is a car in it!"

Fun times... oh yeah, the gal was drunk and had no insurance.
Also weird, was the fact her driver's window was still intact and open only 3", yet EVERYTHING which could possibly fit through that opening, was strewn across our yard.

We owe our new life in Cave Creek due to new freeway construction. The "silver lining" effect I suppose one would call it. We had a lovely historic cottage home in central Phoenix and then the Squaw Peak Parkway came through our neighborhood.

Originally they were to take our home through eminent domain but in a last minute change they veered it just to the west of our house. The noise was very bad (but not for us) which caused almost every one closer than us to sell and move.

The blight followed soon thereafter and the local chapter of the MS13 social club decided they wanted our home as their new clubhouse. Our home and cedar fencing were being continually "tagged" with spray paint. So, after months of putting up with that and tiring of patching bullet holes in my stucco, we sold and here we are in Cave Creek.

Last time we saw our old house the very expensive shake roof we put on had been PAINTED a vibrant day glow shade of purple.

@sam_hikes
@LindaAnn My trip to Tolleson was 23 minutes and less traffic!! But how long will it stay that way??