Key Points:

• Phoenix city leaders face legislative opposition to new light rail project 

• The project’s fate could be decided by federal funding that hasn’t yet been approved

• The project aims to extend light rail service to the Capitol and Interstate 10

A plan by the city of Phoenix to bring light rail to the Capitol and Interstate 10, which has been in the works for about a decade, could be halted by opposition from Republican lawmakers. 

Phoenix city leaders are considering different options to extend the city’s light rail service to the Capitol in an effort to build light rail tracks over the interstate to Maryvale and the West Valley, but that plan may not include the Capitol extension route the city has proposed after the Phoenix Transportation, Infrastructure and Planning Subcommittee recommended exploring alternative methods of bringing high-capacity transit to west Phoenix with or without a Capitol light rail route.

Republicans at the Legislature have opposed any light rail projects near the Capitol. They included a provision in the Maricopa County transportation sales tax ballot referral — Prop. 479 — which banned any light rail expansion within 50 yards of the Capitol when the city was planning a light rail route on Jefferson Street. 

“It’s no secret that there’s an entire contingent at the Capitol that doesn’t support our light rail efforts,” Phoenix City Deputy Manager Frank McCune said during the city’s Dec. 17 Transportation Subcommittee meeting. “It’s why they carved out the (Capitol) mall in the enabling legislation that allowed us to do Prop. 479.”

Phoenix voters approved the Capitol extension project in 2015 under the Transportation 2050 plan, but because of Prop. 479, city leaders are considering alternative routes from the original plans.

Some options the city is considering include running light rail tracks either north or south along 16th Avenue, then continuing west past Van Buren Street. Another option would be to run the light rail north up Seventh Avenue and then west on Van Buren Street, in between Phoenix’s Oakland and Woodland historic district neighborhoods. 

City staff at Phoenix’s subcommittee hearing also told city councilmembers on the committee that they have heard rumors a bill could be introduced at the Legislature that would prevent the city from extending light rail over Interstate 10. 

No such bill has been introduced yet, but Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, told the Arizona Capitol Times he and other members of the majority are opposed to the city’s light rail efforts. 

“I think it’s a waste of money. There are more environmentally sound and cheaper ways to transport people and I think it destroys businesses during the construction period,” Kavanagh said. 

Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria, also sent a letter, which Kavanagh signed, to the city shortly before the Transportation Subcommittee hearing, where he also expressed his opposition to the light rail project, as did Speaker Steve Montenegro, R-Goodyear, and Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert.

While Livingston didn’t support any light rail expansion, he did pick a most-preferred option if the city does continue with its project, which would be to run tracks south along 15th Avenue and then proceed directly to Madison Street to head west instead of turning south at 16th Avenue. 

Kavanagh said that option is more desirable for lawmakers because it avoids breaking up the two neighborhoods impacted by the Seventh Avenue route and only requires demolishing state buildings that are currently vacant. 

Despite an acceptable route for lawmakers, Kavanagh said he doesn’t think the project will continue because he doesn’t expect the city to secure the federal funding it needs to complete it.

“This whole thing is one big, wild goose chase,” Kavanagh said. 

The Capitol extension project is under consideration for the Federal Transit Administration’s capital investment grant, but federal funding is not guaranteed and has not yet been awarded. KJZZ reported the city is seeking $250 million of federal funds for the Capitol project and another $1.2 billion for the Interstate 10 project, although some city staff think the Trump administration may support the city’s efforts.

“No discretionary grant funding is ever certain, and while the administration’s type of governing has been somewhat unpredictable, it has been supportive of transportation and transit grant funding unlike other types of funding,” said Eric Gudino, the federal manager in Phoenix’s Office of Government Relations.

Phoenix Councilman Jim Waring, a former Republican member of the Legislature, said he’s confident Republican lawmakers will kill the city’s project if they can. He urged city staff to explore other options around the Capitol since Republican lawmakers have made their position on the issue clear. 

Waring also noted the issue could come down to who is occupying the Governor’s Office. If a bill is sent to the governor’s desk to outlaw the Interstate 10 project, Phoenix staff is prepared to lobby the Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ office to veto the bill as her office has supported public transportation projects.

“If we move forward, it might be at our peril and we may regret moving forward and then lose everything,” said Councilwoman Debra Stark. “This is really a struggle. I know we need to move on something.”

But with Hobbs facing re-election next November, there could be a different governor who would support such a bill in 2027. 

The Phoenix City Council is expected to decide which Capitol light rail route it will pursue in late January.