Suggestions for Solutions to Phoenix's Growth Problems

In order to cope with the traffic congestion, city planners in Phoenix are constructing a plan to widen Interstate 10 in metropolitan Phoenix from fourteen lanes to twenty-four lanes for a two mile stretch. Another twelve miles of the highway will average twenty-two lanes. The project is estimated to cost $550 million and could begin by 2011. Phoenix planners are taking a proactive approach to the congestion problem by designing the expansion of Interstate 10 to meet the growing traffic demands in the future. The Arizona Department of Transportation estimates that the highway currently carries 294,000 vehicles a day, but expect that amount to jump to 450,000 in 2025. This is extremely important to the continuance of Phoenix's booming economy, since traffic congestion hinders a city's competitiveness with other cities for new businesses