The Arizona Department of Transportation has selected a development team for the largest-ever highway construction project in the state.
ADOT said the construction of the 22-mile stretch of highway is a first of its kind “public-private partnership.”
Rather than dividing the road into multiple, smaller projects, instead the same developers will build the entire road and maintain it for three decades after it's finished.
Dustin Krugel with ADOT said that will have several major benefits.
“We are anticipating it to be completed almost three years faster using this method, and we also anticipate having lower costs overall,” Krugel said.
The South Mountain stretch of the Loop 202 will provide a new link between the East and West Valleys. Krugel said the state does not yet have a final price tag for the project, but nearly $2 billion has been set aside.
Construction will begin next year, and the highway is expected to be completed by 2019
