PHOENIX (AP) – Gila River Indian Community residents will vote on whether to allow the South Mountain Freeway extension on tribal land.

The proposal to be considered would amend current plans for the $1.9 billion extension of Loop 202 would link west Phoenix to Chandler with a 22-mile, eight-lane freeway along Pecos Road.

The current freeway plans would take out a church and more than 100 homes in Ahwatukee, The Arizona Republic reported Tuesday.

It would also cut through three ridges in the South Mountain preserve. The ridges are religiously and culturally significant to the Gila River tribe.

The vote on the issue is set for Feb. 7

The reservation realignment of the highway would run along flat, undeveloped land and would not require the destruction of mountains or buildings. However, the state would have to negotiate to obtain several privately owned tracts along that route.

The Gila River Tribal Council has been developing ballot language. Voters will be able to go to their local polling place or use a mail ballot, said Gila River spokeswoman Alia Maisonet.

It's taken two years to bring the freeway relocation proposal to a vote, said Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio, whose district includes Ahwatukee.

“Our community came together on a single plan,” he said. The plan was to get the state and the Gila River community talking about shifting the freeway to tribal land.

In February 2010, Gov. Jan Brewer urged the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Maricopa Association of Governments to work with the Gila River Indian Community to come up with a plan to build on tribal land.

Bob Hazlett, senior engineer and manager for the Maricopa Association of Governments, said if the tribe votes to oppose relocation, the plans for building it along Pecos Road would go to public hearings sometime this year.

If residents vote in favor of relocation, he said, it would take six months to a year to modify the current environmental-impact statement. That required statement analyzes 26 factors, including air quality, cultural resources and wildlife.

After the federal government approves the impact statement and construction plans, the design would take another 18 months to two years to complete, he said.

“Assuming everything moves along at a pretty good clip,” Hazlett said, the earliest construction could start is late 2014 and could take four to five years to complete.

A relocated freeway path likely would run south from 51st Avenue in Phoenix past Pecos Road.

It would connect with the eastern edge of Loop 202, just past 48th Street and Pecos Road, with exits at 51st Avenue, 17th Avenue, Desert Foothills Parkway, 24th Street and 40th Street.

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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com