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Terrace Road new light rail option instead of through ASU core


Tempe's light rail route will no longer pass through the core of ASU. The Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail Transit Project has officially given up on a route that would not interfere with sensitive research at ASU.

The new ideal option is to have the rail run from Sixth Street and Stadium Drive, along Terrace Road, to Apache Boulevard. just west of Dorsey Lane.

Mernoy Harrison, ASU executive vice president for administration and finance, said the light rail will not pass through McAllister Avenue.

"The alternative route is along the Terrace Road alignment and intersects the core campus north and west of the Ritter Building," Harrison said.

The second option is to run the light rail down Rural Road to make the Apache Boulevard connection.

Neither of the two proposed options would bring the light rail through the middle of the campus.

Mary O'Connor, Tempe deputy public works manager, said that the Terrace Road light rail route was not their first choice.

"We believe it is a feasible alternative," O'Connor said.

O'Connor said she does not anticipate ASU changing its mind about allowing the light rail to run through McAllister Avenue because the University has very strong concerns about protecting its research labs.

ASU began to question the planned McAllister Avenue route in January when consultants from Tempe-based Abbie Gregg Inc. worried that vibrations from the train and electromagnetic fields would affect high-tech microscopes and other equipment in nearby buildings.

The light rail is a $42 million project that will take about four and a half years to complete. Upon completion, the light rail will run for 13 miles through Mesa, Tempe and Phoenix.

A public hearing will be held 6 p.m. on July 29 at the Holiday Inn at 915 E. Apache Blvd. to discuss the issue.

Reach the reporter at erin.hawksworth@asu.edu.


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