GILBERT, AZ — ADOT is putting the finishing touches on a major construction project aimed to accommodate the tremendous growth taking place in the Gilbert area.
A brand-new interchange from the Loop 202 to Lindsay Road is set to open overnight Friday.
According to ADOT, the project began back in January of 2021.
The new loop 202 Santan Freeway interchange at Lindsay Road in Gilbert is meant to provide residents easy access to the central business district.
The project features four new ramps — 2 off and 2 on-ramps — plus a new westbound frontage road between Lindsay and Gilbert roads.
Rich Patchett lives in the area and was biking in Zanjero Park. He's excited about the project's completion but has questions on the timing.
"We were just curious why they wouldn't have done it right when they built the 202," Patchett said. "With the growth in the Valley and everybody moving here, they knew the growth was going to be there, so why not then?"
Ted Bush has lived in a neighborhood near the project zone for 22 years. He can remember when there was nothing but farmland in the area.
Bush says he gets growth and progress but wasn't fully on board with the new Lindsay interchange.
"I think there's enough exits. I don't think they need to put one on Lindsay, it creates more traffic flow where I live, but that's progress so, I'm ok with that," he said.
One concern before construction was the safety of a family of burrowing owls that lived in Zanjero Park near the construction zone. People would come from miles around to see the birds in their nests.
"Yeah, I've seen the burrowing owls out here before," said resident, Warren Deahl, just finishing his ride in Zanjero Park. "I hope they took that into account when they were moving this because we lost about a mile worth of trails over here when they put the entrance and exit on," he said,
Representatives from Wild at Heart Sanctuary say they removed and relocated the owls safely before construction. No word yet if the birds will be making a return to the park now that construction is complete.
ADOT says the total costs for the Loop 202 Lindsay Road project came in at $21.7 million.
