Az. Valley forced to slash billions in road projects

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.