The Arizona Department of Transportation said work will continue on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway after a recent court ruling in a legal dispute to halt the project.

In the latest court battle, the Arizona Court of Appeals rejected an appeal by the Gila River Indian Community in an effort to stop the project, ADOT said in a news release.

“The Arizona Department of Transportation and its partners are moving forward with construction of a freeway that will improve the quality of life in this region, connecting people with employment centers and providing a much-needed alternative to a strained Interstate 10 through downtown Phoenix.” ADOT Director John said in the release.

The new loop will give drivers an east-west alternative for a growing region, the ADOT said in the release. “The 22-mile South Mountain Freeway, approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley by connecting Interstate 10 at the Loop 202 Santan Freeway interchange and the I-10 Papago Freeway near 59th Avenue,” ADOT said.

ADOT said in the release the court ruling was "the fifth time courts have rejected attempts to halt construction of this long-planned link between the East Valley and West Valley.”