The Northeast Valley has grown rapidly over the last several years, which has brought significant increases in traffic on the major arterials in the study area. Congestion already is occurring at the Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) traffic interchanges, which serve as primary access points into the study area from the greater MAG region. This growth trend is projected to continue with large developments planned both north and south of Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) in the immediate future. Additionally, there is developer interest in all the Arizona State Trust Land parcels located in the study area. Arizona State Trust Land makes up the majority of the undeveloped land in the study area. In anticipation of this growth and additional traffic, MAG is conducting this study in cooperation with the cities of Phoenix and Scottsdale to analyze future traffic demands and needed improvements within the area’s transportation network. This analysis will be compared to the current proposed roadway and multimodal networks for the purposes of identifying network gaps, project prioritization, and regional coordination among the interested agencies.
The Northeast Valley Transportation Study will also be evaluating the Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) corridor. Although recently widened by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to its ultimate configuration of four general purpose lanes and one HOV lane, Loop 101 still regularly experiences severe congestion on the mainline and at the traffic interchanges. The mainline congestion is primarily a product of heavy commuter traffic passing through the study area but is exacerbated by traffic with origin/destination trips in the study area. With the planned development that will occur in the study area, the congestion is anticipated to increase. As Loop 101 has been constructed to its ultimate configuration, the MAG study will focus the Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) analysis on freeway access (traffic interchange configurations and freeway weave sections) and supporting corridors that can provide alternative regional connectivity to the study area.
Several studies have been completed in or around the study area. There are two ongoing MAG studies for the Cave Creek Road and Pima Road corridors, which are the western and eastern study area limits. MAG seeks to build on these studies and other agency-completed studies to develop a comprehensive transportation plan that will have near-term and long-term recommendations.
The Northeast Valley study area is defined with the following boundaries for the purposes of this study:
- North: Dynamite Road
- South: Central Arizona Project Canal
- East: Pima Road
- West: Cave Creek Road