W. Valley I-10 OK'd for early widening
Work on first leg set for late 2007

Christine L. Romero
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 27, 2006 12:00 AM

The southwestern portion of Interstate 10 will be widened three years ahead of schedule, offering relief to the hundreds of thousands of motorists who battle the deadly stretch.

The Maricopa Association of Governments Regional Council on Wednesday unanimously agreed to accelerate the freeway's improvements. The new timetable means construction is expected to start in late 2007 and will take about 18 months to finish.

"The sooner, the better," Goodyear resident Christie Kramer said.

Avondale, Goodyear and Litchfield Park asked MAG to accelerate the road widening and will pony up the extra cost to complete the $130 million project early. This won't affect other projects that are part of Proposition 400, a voter approved half-cent sales tax that funds transportation projects.

In fact, Wednesday's success could lead to similar deals by other Valley cities facing gridlock, including Scottsdale and Phoenix.

The southwest Valley project will widen the freeway from the Loop 101 to Sarival Road, parts of which are only two lanes now. In 2009, motorists will cruise four lanes in each direction plus an HOV lane.

The three cities have to shoulder about $10 million, a portion of the interest created by taking the Proposition 400 money out early. The cities have to pay back the funds over seven years.

The state will pay for the rest of the $120 million by using an Arizona Department of Transportation loan and accessing future federal money.

The cities haven't settled how much each will pay, but the amount will likely be based on the number of new lane miles added in each city. Goodyear will likely pay the most, Avondale second and Litchfield Park a small percentage because the freeway doesn't travel through the city.Goodyear and Avondale officials are eyeing their General Funds to cover costs. Litchfield Park officials did not return phone calls.

Goodyear Mayor Jim Cavanaugh spearheaded the movement to hasten the widening.

He was silent at the meeting but greeted the vote with a gushing smile.

Down the road, Goodyear and Buckeye are expected to push for a second widening project: the segment of the freeway from Sarival Road to Maricopa County 85.

"We need to learn from what Goodyear has done," Buckeye Vice Mayor Chris Urwiller said. "(We need) to step up to the plate and see that we aren't the bottleneck next."

Goodyear officials say the fatality rate along their portion of the freeway is 10 times the I-10's national average.

Litchfield Park resident Monica Sproull said that she looks at the freeway and often thinks there must be an accident but that it's just the usual jam.

"It seems like as development happens there's not a good time to avoid it," Sproull said. "It seems like it's always crazy."

The mounting congestion, in part, is fueled by the truck traffic coming and going from California. That prompted leaders to point to the economic factors involved.

"This is a long time coming," Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox said.