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SPA DUO
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
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ADOT inches closer to huge I-10 overhaul BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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ay goodbye to risking an accident trying to get from I-10 northbound just past the U.S 60 to SR 143 and the airport. And if you’re heading north on the I-10 from the Santan Loop 202 Freeway or anywhere from south of Baseline Road, imagine not waiting endlessly for traffic to inch along. The prospect of a safer and more efficient
commute for many Ahwatukee residents moved a bit closer to reality last week as the Arizona Department of Transportation held a public hearing on its plans to widen and improve a stretch of the I-10 from the Santan Freeway to the I-17 split. The hearing was part of the requirements ADOT needs to meet before it completes a final environmental impact study this year and submit its plan to the Federal Highway Administration for a four-year, approximately
$600-million overhaul of a portion of the I-10 that can largely be a daily headache for countless Ahwatukee and East Valley motorists. The project is not a completely done deal. ADOT technically could decide against doing anything, though that seems unlikely after years of study it devoted to one of its most vexsome freeway segments. And the FHA, which would foot a big part of
years, reports of the Ahwatukee Chamber ‘s demise appear premature. “The Chamber is definitely at a whole new level and it’s doing really well,” said board Chairman Tom Dougherty, an Ahwatukee resident and owner of Action Coach of Arizona. “We’ve seen more members coming to events. We’re doing more events. We’re doing less big events, but we’re doing it with really
focusing on the key ones,” he added. One of those big events was last week’s celebration, which included a special recognition of the seven charter businesses that formed the Ahwatukee Chamber a quarter century ago. The celebration will feature the seven orig-
see INTERSTATE page 6
Off the ropes, Ahwatukee Chamber seeing better days
BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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@AhwatukeeFN |
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s about 200 people formally celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce, the unspoken message might have echoed Mark Twain’s famous statement. Despite some rocky times in the last couple
No tricks, just treats, please
see CHAMBER page 9
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THUNDERING ON
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With trick-or-treating in full swing today and tomorrow, Inspire Kids Montessori in Ahwatukee had some training of sorts for its students during its annual Halloween parade Oct. 25 in the strip mall where it’s located at 4025 E. Chandler Blvd. Observing their classmates are, from left, Medison Buck, Aaron Won and Alex French, all under 1. (Special to AFN)