From: "Friends of Transit" To: Subject: Light-rail work closes streets in downtown Date: Friday, July 29, 2005 7:05 PM Light-rail work closes streets in downtown Ginger D. Richardson The Arizona Republic Jul. 29, 2005 12:00 AM PHOENIX - City officials are urging residents to avoid a section of Central Avenue in downtown for the next several months while crews tear up the roadway for the Valley Metro light-rail project. The two left lanes on the west side of Central Avenue between Adams and Polk streets are already completely blocked off and will likely stay that way through mid-September, officials said. Starting this weekend, those lanes will also be closed between Washington and Adams streets. "This is the first time we've been in the heart of the downtown area," said Daina Mann, a spokeswoman with Valley Metro Rail. "And this is just the start." Other construction projects in the downtown area will start in the next month or so. Crews will be tearing up Washington Street near the Phoenix Civic Plaza, and eventually they will be doing utility work along First Avenue between Washington and Polk streets. In addition, officials are blocking off intersections in the area, which means that motorists will not be able to turn left onto Adams from Central. Mann said the road construction work in the downtown area would be fairly constant for the next 18 months. "People need to allow themselves some extra time," she said. Officials are already recommending that motorists use First or Seventh streets or Third Avenue as alternatives to Central when heading north out of downtown. The $1.3 billion light-rail starter line will connect Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa. It is expected to open by December 2008.