On Friday, a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals order rejecting the Gila River Indian Community’s motion for an injunction pending appeal was released. The order allows work can proceed on the South Mountain Freeway while an appeal by freeway opponents is pending before the 9th Circuit in San Francisco.
It’s the fifth time courts have rejected attempts to halt construction of this long-planned link between the East Valley and West Valley.
In November 2016, the 9th Circuit denied a separate request for an emergency injunction by a different group of freeway opponents.
In October 2016, the U.S. District Court in Phoenix denied the plaintiffs’ motion for an injunction, saying, in part, that they are unlikely to prevail on appeal. That followed the court’s August ruling granting the motions for summary judgment by the Federal Highway Administration and ADOT, concluding that the agencies complied with federal law in moving forward with the project.
In July 2015, the court rejected a motion for a preliminary injunction that would have halted all work leading up to the start of construction.
The 22-mile South Mountain Freeway, approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley by connecting Interstate 10 at the Loop 202 Santan Freeway interchange and the I-10 Papago Freeway near 59th Avenue.
Construction began in September with improvements to the I-10/Loop 202 Santan Freeway interchange that include extending Loop 202 HOV lanes and widening the shoulders to Pecos Road near 48th Street. Construction of the mainline freeway is scheduled to begin this month.
Phoenix City Councilman Michael Nowakowski stated, “A federal court has again ruled in favor of the South Mountain Freeway. The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals last week denied another legal challenge from freeway opponents to halt construction while an appeal on the project is heard. This move comes after the 9th Circuit and the U.S. District Court in Phoenix both refused last fall to issue an emergency injunction to stop construction during appeal.”
“This is the latest good news to move freeway construction forward. The South Mountain Freeway is going to be a major economic development driver throughout the Valley, but especially in the Laveen and Estrella areas in District 7, which have been planning and preparing for the project for years. The freeway also is going to boost our quality of life and bring much needed relief to drivers on Interstate 10, who lose untold hours each year sitting in traffic on one of the most congested stretches of freeway in Arizona,” said Nowakowski.