ADOT buying some houses in planned freeway's path

The Arizona Department of Transportation is quietly buying Phoenix homes in the path of the planned South Mountain Freeway from people with special hardship cases, even though the state is strapped for cash and the agency is in talks to move the route. For homeowners who qualify, ADOT's hardship program is a financial godsend. For neighbors who also want to sell their homes but don't meet the strict criteria, it can be frustrating, upsetting and seem plain unfair. ADOT occasionally steps in to buy a home from people who need to sell but are unable to find a buyer because the home is in the path of a planned freeway. Eligible owners are those who are struggling to pay their mortgages because of out-of-state job transfers, illnesses or family deaths. Since the 1980s, when the Loop 202 freeway route was first sketched out, ADOT has spent $8.7 million in state funds to buy hardship-program homes in Ahwatukee Foothills and Laveen. It has spent a total $79.8 million on commercial and residential property along Pecos Road for the planned freeway.

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