By Dan McCarthy
Mail

The Loop 202 Improvement Project reached its halfway point this month, and next year will have crews making the final push toward completion in the spring of 2027.

A key feature of the project is the addition of two new lanes in each direction between Loop 101 and Gilbert Road.

“Widening projects usually add one more lane. So, the added capacity with the second lane here will certainly help with traffic flow for decades to come,” Arizona Department of Transportation spokesman Doug Nintzel said.

Work on the $200 million project started in August 2024. In addition to the widening between Loop 101 and Gilbert Road, ADOT is adding one lane in each direction between Gilbert Road and Val Vista Drive.

ADOT also is reconstructing Loop 202 on- and off-ramps, adding walls and widening bridges to accommodate the wider freeway within Chandler and Gilbert, according to ADOT.

Other additions include new freeway lights, signs message boards and drainage systems. The installation of new fiber-optic cable will be used for closed-circuit cameras and other equipment to provide ADOT and drivers with real-time information about traffic conditions and travel times.

Lionel Goy of Phoenix is the resident engineer for the project, working with contractors performing the work.

"Since the project is scheduled over more than two years, weather is a primary factor that can impact the contractors’ production. Rain and runoff at times have required cleanup work in order to restore the project site to pre-storm conditions.”

However, he said, crews  plan for the events and the short-term weather effects, while a challenge, have not altered the project’s schedule.

And that is significant because the project is important for not just Chandler and Gilbert but the Valley, Maricopa Association of Governments Assistant Executive Director and Chief Transportation Officer John Bullen said.

"This particular widening of the Santan Freeway is part of a coordinated, region-wide plan for improving mobility,” Bullen said.

“We're improving connectivity to and from the entire Southeast Valley and providing more efficient options for travel and commerce across the Phoenix region,” Bullen said.

Drivers will encounter several closures until the project is completed, Goy said.

"We'll move onto reconstructing individual on- and off-ramps to fit with the widened freeway by next summer, he said.

A good example, Goy pointed out, is a two-month closure of the westbound off-ramp at Dobson Road starting by mid-January.

Any remaining ramps that haven't been reconstructed also will require one of the 60-day closures.

“But we've made a lot of progress with that part of the project,” the engineer said.

"Also, by summer, our goal is to complete a couple of two-week ramp closures at the Loop 101 and Loop 202 interchange so crews can finish pavement replacement and remediation work.”

That work will require separate closures of the southbound Loop 101 to eastbound Loop 202 ramp and the westbound Loop 202 to northbound Loop 101 ramp.

“We will have detours in place when each closure is implemented,” Goy said.

Nintzel said that providing information to drivers will be key for the next year and into the spring of 2027.

"One of the most significant continuing challenges is keeping people informed and providing alternate routes when closures are needed,” he said.

“The project team won't close consecutive on- or off-ramps when they need to be closed for two months. Folks can still go to the ADOT website to sign up to receive free project updates."

The website: azdot.gov

ADOT is managing the Loop 202 Santan Freeway Improvement Project in partnership with the Maricopa Association of Governments, which serves as the metropolitan planning organization for the greater Phoenix region.

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Dan McCarthy
Web content

dmccarthy@iniusa.org

Meet Dan
Dan McCarthy joined Independent Newsmedia as web content editor after a 40-plus year career as a reporter and editor in New Jersey and Arizona. During his time in Arizona, he has been an editor of daily and weekly papers in Tempe, Scottsdale, Chandler, Ahwatukee, Sun City, Sun City West, Surprise, Peoria and Glendale. Prior to moving to Arizona in 1984, when he was hired to be assistant city editor at the Tempe Daily News, he covered regional police/fire news, municipal, county and state governments in New Jersey, the latter as bureau chief at the state Capitol.

Community: He has served on several boards over the years, including the Tempe Community Action Agency and the Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital Board of Governors. He is a graduate of the Tempe Leadership and Scottsdale Leadership programs, serving as media adviser for subsequent classes of Tempe Leadership.

Education: Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. 

Random Fact: Set winter/summer track records in the 60-, 100- and 220-yard dashes at his high school in New Jersey. 

Hobbies: Tai chi, cooking, dining at his must-eat-once places around the U.S. and the Cincinnati Reds, his favorite team since 1961.