PHOENIX – A piece of history for the city of Phoenix is celebrating its 35th anniversary this weekend: the opening of the I-10 Deck Park Tunnel through downtown.
The tunnel, which many commuters use daily, opened in 1990. Margaret T. Hance Park, which sits on top of the tunnel, was just a pile of dirt at the time.
What they’re saying:
Doug Nintzel, an Arizona Department of Transportation spokesperson, said the tunnel’s opening was a monumental achievement for the state.
“It really was something to behold back then in terms of how much work it took to get I-10 completed,” Nintzel said.
Nintzel, who was there for the three-day opening celebration, said the tunnel’s construction was a major step in creating a regional freeway system for the Valley. The project was the “final mile” of I-10 to open to traffic across the entire country, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.
The tunnel was built with 19 side-by-side bridges that created the space for I-10 to travel underneath, while also forming the foundation for Margaret T. Hance Park. The project was developed as a solution to avoid building an elevated freeway, which many residents opposed.
Nintzel said the tunnel’s completion was a crucial factor in the Valley’s growth.
“State Farm Stadium in the West Valley, Chase Field, downtown, the things that we have in the East Valley where it has grown, these things wouldn’t exist if we had not been able to put really a transportation system that gets the job done for the valley,” he said.
In 2021, the tunnel was upgraded with LED lighting. Last year, it was dedicated in memory of Dean Lindsey, a late ADOT civil engineer who played a crucial role in its construction.