Skip to main content

Arizona chooses consortium for its largest-ever highway project

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has selected Connect 202 Partners as the preferred developer for its first highway public-private partnership, the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway. The consortium includes Fluor Enterprises, Granite Construction and Ames Construction, with Parsons Brinckerhoff as the lead designer. The South Mountain Freeway will be constructed with four lanes in each direction - three general-use lanes and one HOV lane - and includes modern features including rubberised
January 4, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The 6576 Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has selected Connect 202 Partners as the preferred developer for its first highway public-private partnership, the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.  The consortium includes 2248 Fluor Enterprises, 7973 Granite Construction and Ames Construction, with 4983 Parsons Brinckerhoff as the lead designer.

The South Mountain Freeway will be constructed with four lanes in each direction - three general-use lanes and one HOV lane - and includes modern features including rubberised asphalt and aesthetics designed in partnership with the community.

While the freeway will not be a toll road, the public-private partnership will allow ADOT to construct the project at an accelerated pace and at a lower cost.

This public-private partnership will reduce costs to taxpayers while accelerating construction. Typically, a project of this magnitude would be split into several smaller projects, but the South Mountain Freeway will be completed as a single project by one contracting team and remains on track for construction to begin in summer 2016. ADOT is expected to finalise the contract with Connect 202 Partners by mid-February. Construction is expected to take up to four years to complete.

“While ADOT has successfully built and managed hundreds of miles of freeways in the Phoenix metropolitan area, following a public-private partnership path for the first time was an appropriate tool for the South Mountain Freeway,” ADOT director John Halikowski said. “ADOT will be able to complete this much-needed project sooner as a result, while increasing the likelihood of saving taxpayer dollars.”

“The South Mountain Freeway is a critical piece of the MAG freeway program,” said Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane, chair of the Maricopa Association of Governments Regional Council. “The freeway has been included in the voter-approved Regional Transportation Plan since 1985 and will provide improved mobility for residents in the MAG region. The design, construction and maintenance of the freeway by a private developer is a unique and innovative approach to delivering this important project.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Siemens to build streetcars for Atlanta
    April 25, 2012
    Siemens Industry has been awarded a US$17.2 million contract from Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), on behalf of the City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, to provide Atlanta with four new streetcars. The first car is expected to be delivered in September 2012 with revenue service beginning in early 2013. These will be the first streetcars in Atlanta since 1949 and will mark Siemens entry into the streetcar market in the United States.
  • Consortium to study UK eHighway feasibility 
    August 11, 2021
    Partners including Siemens hope overhead electricity lines will serve major roads by 2030s
  • Temporary traffic monitoring with Bluetooth and wi-fi
    May 31, 2013
    David Crawford reviews developments in temporary ITS. Widespread take-up of technologies such as Bluetooth and wi-fi are encouraging the emergence of more sophisticated, while still cost effective, ITS responses to the traffic issues posed by temporary road situations such as work zones and special events. Andy Graham of traffic solutions specialists White Willow Consulting says: “A machine-to-machine radio link is far easier and cheaper than reading characters on a plate.” There can be other plusses. Tech
  • Bogota's metro tender delayed
    July 25, 2014
    The tender for Bogota, Colombia’s decades-long and much-delayed first metro line has been pushed to the first quarter of 2015 following expansion of the US$3.6 billion project. The original project included the construction of the first line of Bogota’s 26.5 kilometre long metro, which would have 28 stations and be used by around 600,000 people a day. This is the first of four lines planned to be built in the next 30 years. The metro will complement the existing urban transport system by handling 50 p