A yearlong effort to move the planned South Mountain Freeway, or the southwestern 22 miles of Loop 202 in the Valley, hit a wall this month as the Gila River Indian Community ruled some petition signatures invalid or improperly obtained. The invalidated petitions had sought to put onto a tribal ballot a proposal to move the freeway route onto the northern edge of the reservation. The issue is complicated for tribal members because the planned route, across South Mountain, involves an area considered sacred by the tribe even though it is not part of the reservation. Moving the route also would have provided some economic benefits to the tribe. Now the focus on the long-awaited freeway addition moves to the Arizona Department of Transportation’s July 24 deadline for public comment on an environmental study that says the $2 billion project is vital for mobility, and there is no alternative to the South Mountain route.Get the Story:
Editorial: Freeway extension (The Casa Grande Dispatch 7/11) Also Today:
No new tribal vote on South Mountain Freeway (The Arizona Republic 7/10)
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