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Az. Valley forced to slash billions in road projects
Declining tax revenue leads to budget cuts
October 29, 2009
Voter-approved highway upgrades in the Arizona Valley are now getting panel-rejected.
The Regional Council of the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) voted to cut almost $7 billion from a $16 billion freeway improvement corridor that was part of Proposition 400. The countywide measure created a half-percent sales tax that received the blessing from voters in 2004.
A declining tax revenue forced MAG to scale back. Highlights of the chopping/slicing block are as follows:
• Defer widening 76 miles of existing freeways all over the Valley;
• Postpone 30 miles of new freeways;
• Scale back the design and size of existing Loop 303, as well as the South Mountain section of Loop 202 in south Phoenix;
• Simplify the landscaping, design and sound-reduction techniques used on numerous freeways; and
• Defer improvements to about a half-dozen interchanges.
Several projects that were cut will most likely stay on the shelf until 2025 unless voters approve another tax or a new six-year highway bill is passed.
