Phoenix-area motorists on Pecos Road and Desert Foothills Parkway can expect short-term traffic restrictions while nearby controlled rock blasting makes way for a new stretch of freeway.

The Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway project is expected to be completed in late 2019 and will link the East and West valleys and offer an alternative route to Interstate 10 in downtown Phoenix, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).

The affected area will be west of 24th Street and beyond the Desert Foothills Parkway. Precaution will be taken for homeowners in the area; drivers will be notified in advance via message board signs on Pecos Road and Desert Foothills Parkway.

Controlled rock blasting breaks rock into smaller sizes for easier demolition; the fragments will be recycled as fill for the Pecos Road section of the new 22-mile freeway. 

The department has assigned Connect 202 Partners as the project developer. 

ADOT’s Rob Samour, who serves as senior deputy state engineer for major projects, said that the blasting is performed in highest conformance to best practices.

“Controlled rock blasting has been used to shape essential roadways throughout the world, including the initial construction of Pecos Road previously,” Samour said in an announcement. “Connect 202 Partners has hired an experienced team, including a blasting engineer, blasting consultant and vibration monitoring expert with close to 100 years of combined blasting experience.”

Connect 202 Partners has contracted with Aimone-Martin Associates to perform free surveys to determine structural soundness for homeowners within a half-mile of the immediate area.