A plan to ease traffic congestion along Interstate 17 in Phoenix has some business owners concerned, especially on Camelback Road. That’s where a plan presented by the Maricopa Association of Governments calls for rebuilding the interchange and adding a third deck so cars can bypass the freeway.
“We found out there’s more traffic crossing the 17 than actually using the 17,” Bob Hazlett, MAG engineering manager, told the city’s transportation and infrastructure subcommittee. “And, so what we wanted to do was to make certain we could facilitate those crossings.”
Don Luke owns a car dealership in the construction path. He urged the subcommittee to slow things down.
“My biggest concern is the taking of right- a- way,” he said. “If the taking of my property, the whole front line, 20 percent of my retail, goes into this project, that business is going to go to another town.”
Councilwomen Thelda Williams and Laura Pastor voiced concerns about the impact on businesses and urged the MAG representative to consider working on other locations first.
Planners say Camelback Road is among the most congested and expected to get worse. The scenario, which is part of the Interstate 10/Interstate 17 Corridor Master Plan, includes rebuilding seven other interchanges along I-17. The Arizona Department of Transportation must still conduct several studies and construction is not expected to start before 2021.
