Why Arizona is Building a NEW $5 BILLION Freeway in the Phoenix Area | Arizona State Highway 30

Arizona is getting a brand new freeway.

Yep, a shiny new freeway is coming to

the Valley of the Sun, aka the Phoenix

area. Now, as some of you might know,

Phoenix actually has some of the better

flowing traffic for a large metro area.

But in order to keep that smooth flowing

traffic, continuous work needs to be

done to keep up with the population

growth of the area. So, what is this new

freeway?

Well, they call it Arizona State Route.

[applause]

And on this video, we're going to learn

all about this new highway and when the

good folks of Arizona might be able to

drive on it. Go ahead, like the video,

subscribe if you love this type of

content, and let's take a trip down to

the desert southwest. Don't forget your

sunscreen. First off, what is Arizona

Route 30? We'll call it Arizona 30 for

short. Also known as the Trace Rios

Freeway after the three rivers in the

area, Arizona 30 is to be a 29mm east

west freeway and serve as a reliever

route for Interstate 10. It is to be a

robust second artery connecting the

cities of Buckeye, Goodyear, Aandelle,

and Phoenix. Now, let's take a look here

at the existing roadway network in the

Phoenix area. As you can see, Phoenix

only has two interstate highways, I 10,

the east west interstate, and I17 that

runs north from downtown. It has no

auxiliary interstates. But don't be

fooled. Phoenix has several other

freeways that function like interstate

loops in other metro areas, but they are

instead state routes here. There's

Arizona 101, 202, and 303 along with

parts of US60 and Arizona 51 serving as

freeways in the area. So, Phoenix is

actually swimming in interstate quality

roadways. As far as Arizona 30 goes, the

Arizona DOT has provided a map of its

exact location. As we can see here, it

will run roughly parallel to Interstate

10 from I7 in Phoenix to Arizona 85 in

Buckeye. along with the roadway itself

is an extension of the Arizona 303

freeway. The center and east segments

are to be built as a sixlane freeway

from the jump. So, Arizona isn't playing

around with just doing four lanes and

having to go back and upgrade it later.

Next up is the why. Why is Arizona

building this new freeway? Well, as you

guys should already know by now, the

biggest reason is the rapid population

growth. As we've seen in other areas

where new row is being constructed, the

population growth in the Phoenix area

has been explosive to say the least. It

has grown from a sleepy area in the

1970s to being one of the 10 largest

metro areas in the country today with no

signs of slowing down. And if you get on

the ground and travel around the area,

you can definitely tell the Phoenix area

has tons of fast growing suburban towns

with tons of single family homes

everywhere. Everything in the area looks

shiny and new. And I heard a lot of

refugees from neighboring California

have chosen to relocate here. The city

of Buckeye alone is forecasted to reach

over 300,000 people by 2040. And if we

look at the eastern side of the area

compared to the west, you notice that I

10 is the only one out here. So Arizona

30 will keep it company and help

mitigate traffic in the growing western

suburbs. The official purpose, according

to the Arizona DOT, states, "This

project seeks to address population

growth, economic development, and

employment patterns that have resulted

in increased congestion on the existing

regional freeway system and arterial

streets in the area. And when speaking

of the central section, it states that

it will provide a 20% reduction in I 10

rush hour drive time by 2040. It is

estimated to carry volumes as high as

177,000 vehicles per day by 2050. And it

is estimated to save about 32 million

passenger hours over the fiveyear period

following completion of construction.

Now what about the wind? Now when can

the good folks of Arizona finally put

tire to payment on this brand new

freeway? Well, I know you are excited

and just can't wait to find out. We can

see here there's an east, west, and

center section. The center section here

in orange is deemed as the highest

priority by the DOT. It's the portion

between Arizona 202 and the future

extension of Arizona 303. The dates you

see here are the start dates. So from

97th Avenue to Loop 202, it will begin

construction in 2027 with Daart Road to

97th Avenue starting in 2029 and Daart

Road to Australia Parkway in 2031 and

then Australia Parkway to Loop 303 to

begin construction in 2033. The eastern

segment from Loop 202 to I17 will begin

much later in 2045. And then finally,

the section from Loop 303 to Arizona 85

will start in 2046,

quite a while after the central portion.

So, it's pretty likely that this central

section will be completed long before

the other two sections even start

construction. As for the status of these

sections, the central section is funded

for rightway acquisition and final

design. The eastern segment preferred

alternative has been chosen where

preliminary design work on the

interchange between I17 and Arizona 30

to start in 2027. The western segment is

the furthest away with preliminary

design and environmental work to begin

in 2027. So looking at this, the people

might be looking at that central section

done by 2035 with the completed roadway

probably not being done until sometime

around 2050 at the current projection.

And now the big question, how much will

it cost? Well, this is a pretty big

project. So, let's get it started. First

off, the central segment, the most

important link, is projected to cost

around 3.5 billion. However, the full

29mi buildout is forecasted to cost well

over 5 billion for now. So, this is a

pretty large project, and now that we've

seen the number, we can understand why

it will take the state around 25 years

to get it all done. Funding for the

project will be complex, but a big

portion will come from the extension of

a half cent sales transportation tax

that Maricopa County voters approved

back in 2024, which is projected to

generate between 15 and 27 billion by

2045. And 40.5% of the revenue from that

tax is to go towards freeways, which

includes Arizona 30. So despite the high

cost, it appears that the people in the

Phoenix area are willing to put their

money where their mouth is and invest in

the infrastructure of their area. So

shout out to them. Looks like there

won't be any tolls or any other fees

needed as they have voluntarily decided

to pay for it with their taxes. And that

is it guys for the quick rundown on

Arizona 30 coming to the Phoenix Arizona

area. Let me know what you guys think

about this brand new highway, especially

if you live in the Phoenix area. Do you

think it will be a welcome sign? Do you

think this highway will do quite a bit

to help relieve or mitigate the growing

traffic demands in the area? Or do you

think Arizona should just let I 10

handle the burden of the western Phoenix

suburbs? And then the next question, do

you think Arizona will actually get this

done by 2050 and bring it in at under $6

billion or you think the cost will rise

or the construction will be delayed? As

always, thanks for watching and I'll see

you guys on the next one.