Downtown Phoenix construction wrapping up this month

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - The Arizona Diamondbacks are back playing at Chase Field. This week, we’ve seen two nights where the Dbacks are playing at the same time as another big event down Jefferson Street at the Footprint Center. There is traffic everywhere around the venues when there are two events downtown.

Phoenix resident Rene Velasco has lived in the Valley his entire life. If he goes to a baseball game, he pays attention to events at the Footprint Center. “Getting out of here within a two mile radius is hectic. Make sure your phone is charged that way you have something to do.”

The sidewalks, trains, and roads around the Footprint Center and Chase Field are packed on nights when both are being used. On a Friday or weekend evening, many restaurants and bars are packed with people not even going to a game or concert. With the Suns in the playoffs and the Dbacks just starting their season, we can expect more heavy traffic in downtown Phoenix.

But there is some relief that could be coming soon. Valley Metro is about 60% complete with its extension project. They have different phases, but they’ve been building new train stops around downtown for the past few months. They stopped work during the Super Bowl in February, but crews are back working now. Valley Metro expects the work just west of Central Avenue around Jefferson Street and Washington Streets to be done by the end of April.

“It’s important to us to make sure people can have that convenient access and get their in a timely manner,” Valley Metro Communications Director Susan Tierney said. “The progress is happening we appreciate people having patience we know its challenging, but it’s going to pay off once we have the rest of this system open.”

Valley Metro has needed to close some lanes over the past few months for construction. It’s not the main cause of traffic downtown, but hopefully, once the work is complete in the next few weeks, that will relieve some of the stress of driving during busy nights in downtown Phoenix.

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