Maricopa Mayor Christian Price speaks Monday at the groundbreaking for the new east-west parkway connecting Maricopa with Casa Grande. (Photo by Howard Waggner courtesy of Pinal Central.)
By Kimlye Stager | Pinal Central
A new east-west transportation corridor, announced in 2019, is moving toward fruition.
On Monday morning, Maricopa city councilmembers, construction and Ak-Chin Indian Community leaders met at the Sonoran Desert Parkway for the groundbreaking ceremony.
According to a city press release, this is the first step of a high-capacity, multiphase corridor that will link Interstate 10, Casa Grande and Maricopa.
It’s the first purpose-built, from the ground up, parkway in Arizona, they said, providing an all-weather access across the Santa Rosa Wash.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population estimate has Casa Grande and Maricopa ranked among the “fastest growing cities in the nation.”
These communities have major transportation routes in State Route 347 and I-10, north and south, but they don’t have efficient east and west connectivity between them.