By Paul Maryniak | Ahwatukee Foothills News
Controlled blasting along Pecos Road in Ahwatukee for the South Mountain Freeway began Monday, Sept. 11, as a federal appeals court rejected opponents’ last-minute bid to stop it.
Hours after a detonation was scheduled to occur, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its terse response to the request by Protect Arizona’s Resources and Children and the Gila River Indian Community for an order preventing the blasting until the panel resolves his appeal of a lower-court ruling in July 2016 that cleared the way for freeway construction to begin.
“Denied,” the court said, giving no further explanation.
