Light Rail In The Phoenix Area
ARPA supports the completion and expansion of Valley Metro Light Rail (”METRO”), which is set to open in December 2008. “Metro” has already sparked a construction boom along Central Avenue in Phoenix and other places along the line. The line will run:
- Starting in west Mesa near the East Valley Institute of Technology
- West along Main Street and Apache Boulevard in Tempe
- Via ASU, Sun Devil Stadium, Mill Avenue, and the Tempe railway depot
- Along Washington and Jefferson streets in Phoenix
- There will be a connection to Sky Harbor shuttle buses and the planned Sky Harbor People Mover
- Past the downtown Ballpark and Arena, and the central city bus station
- Through the Downtown and Uptown high-rise neighborhoods
- West along Camelback Road to 19th Avenue
- North to Spectrum Mall (which is slated for a complete makeover)
 Tempe Town Lake Light Rail Bridge under construction, October 2005. Photo: W. Lindley |
With Light Rail in place as a circulator, Regional Rail will tie the whole metropolitan area together on existing rail rights-of-way. These lines, which already carry freight throughout the Valley, pass through the downtown of almost every city. Upgrading the lines with additional tracks for more capacity, and signal systems for higher speeds, will benefit both passenger and freight rail.
