Light rail is about more than building new buildings

Light-rail expansion in Mesa

Lindsey Collom | The Republic | azcentral.com

The end of the line for eastbound light rail travel extends farther into Mesa this weekend.

After nearly three years of construction, rail passengers on Saturday morning will be the first to experience the 1.9-mile rail extension on Main Street from Mesa Drive to Gilbert Road.

Work finished in recent weeks on the $186 million extension and transit center, which includes bus bays and a park-and-ride. It’s the final eastern leg of Valley Metro’s light rail system that has received funding so far.

There is currently no funding for further light-rail expansion in Mesa, although the city and Valley Metro are studying transit connections to other areas of the city.

Mesa's first mile of light rail opened in 2008 with a 3.1-mile extension into downtown opening in 2015. The latest extension takes the line farther east of downtown.

The Gilbert Road extension takes the light rail to 28 miles through Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa.

Making connections

Mesa says the latest extension will help connect riders to other public transportation options and serve the growing transit demand in the East Valley.

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The extension includes stations at Stapley Drive and Gilbert Road and a new transit center. The $2 million transit center and park-and-ride at Gilbert Road features six bus bays to help riders make bus-to-bus or bus-to-rail connections.

The city hopes the extension will also help jump-start redevelopment in a part of town that is lined with strip malls and dotted with vacant and rundown storefronts, as light rail has in other areas in Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa.

As part of the project, a four-legged roundabout was constructed on Main Street and Horne Avenue to help traffic flow smoothly and ease congestion along Main Street as the light rail cuts through the intersection.

Gate arms will signal that the train is approaching. While the arms are down, drivers headed east or west or making right-hand turns can continue through the roundabout. The roundabout will allow people to make left-hand turns and U-turns without having to wait for a turn signal.

The $184 million rail project was funded by federal grants and local funding: $173.5 million in federal funding and $10.5 million in local funding from the city of Mesa.

Will Flannigan, azcentral

Where does Mesa go next?

Jodi Sorrell, Mesa’s transportation director, said the city is eyeing two extensions that would link the current line to the Fiesta District and another connection with Tempe.

Studies for both are underway. Sorrell said Thursday that the Fiesta District study should wrap up later this year. Another study looking into how Mesa might link its public transit to the the Tempe streetcar system should be completed in about a year.

There is no funding for either project.

An opening celebration for the Gilbert Road Extension is 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Gilbert Road and Main Street Park-and-Ride. Michael Book, a Valley Metro community outreach coordinator for the project, said light rail will begin servicing the two new stations after 10 a.m.

Republic reporter Paulina Pineda contributed to this article.

Have a Mesa news tip? Reach the reporter at lindsey.collom@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4803. Follow her on Twitter @LindseyCollom.