Key Points:

• An extension to the Phoenix light rail system is being planned

• State law prevents an extension of the transportation system within 150 feet of the Capitol

• Voters approved the extension of the Capitol extension project in 2015 under the Transportation 2050 plan

Two years after the Arizona Legislature outlawed light rail from being built near the Capitol, plans are moving forward to extend Phoenix’s light rail system around the area while staying within the constraints of the law. 

When the Legislature negotiated Proposition 479 in 2023 to ask Maricopa County voters if they wanted to renew a transportation sales tax to fund transportation projects, Republican lawmakers included language into the measure that prevents public dollars from being used to extend light rail within 150 feet of the Capitol complex. 

That hasn’t stopped Valley Metro, the region’s public transportation agency, from proceeding with its 1.6-mile Capitol Extension light rail project, which Phoenix voters approved in 2015 when they passed the city’s Transportation 2050 plan.

Valley Metro had to modify its proposed light rail route near the Capitol to comply with the language included in the passed-ballot referral. According to the project website, the route would connect from an existing line at Third Avenue and Washington Street and run west along Washington Street, turning south on 15th Avenue near the Arizona Supreme Court building, before returning east on Jefferson Street to connect back to the line on Third Avenue. 

Part of the project also includes extending the light rail west to connect to west Phoenix, which would require going over Interstate 10. 

Valley Metro is still working to determine the best route for westward expansion. Officials from the agency presented three options during a May public meeting to go west from the planned track on 15th Avenue. 

1. Go north along 15th Avenue, turning west on Van Buren Street and elevating at 17th Avenue to cross railroad tracks near 19th Avenue. 
2. Go south along 15th Avenue, turning west on Madison Street, and then running the light rail north along 19th Avenue with elevation beginning at Adams Street before turning west on Van Buren Street. 
3. Run the light rail southwest along 16th Avenue with optional elevation near Jefferson and Madison Street to proceed with the 15th Avenue south option, avoiding utilities at 15th Avenue and Madison Street. 

Phoenix New Times reported on Aug. 11 that residents in the Woodland Historic District near 15th Avenue and Monroe Street north of the Capitol are worried that the proposal might require bulldozing at least five homes and some businesses in the area.

Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, told the Arizona Capitol Times that Valley Metro is seeking permission from the Legislature for the planned Capitol loop on 15th Avenue, since it is considered within the Capitol district.

Kavanagh said the I-10 west expansion is the more controversial phase of the project and he expects opposition from local residents and businesses for any of the three proposed routes. 

“I broached the idea of tunneling under the tracks,” Kavanagh said. “They think it would be more expensive, but I think, aesthetically, it’s a lot nicer.”

Valley Metro is currently preparing for an environmental assessment of the Capitol loop, and Kavanagh said the agency was hoping to get legislative approval this fall, but he told agency officials they would have to wait until the next legislative session, when lawmakers are back at the Capitol.