Arizona Department of Transportation

The Arizona Department of Transportation is replanting native trees, cacti and plants along the new Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

The Arizona Department of Transportation is replanting native trees, cacti and plants along the new Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway. 

ADOT started removing more than 1,000 trees, cacti and other vegetation along the 22-mile freeway path back in 2016. The plan was to protect them from damage and preserve them during construction.

“We removed the plants put them in a nursery that we’ve kept, kept them watered, kept them healthy for the past three-plus years, and as soon as we had the freeway ready to go, in different sections around the route, we put those plants back in place," said Tom Herrmann, a spokesman for ADOT.

ADOT has been replanting for the past several weeks and is expected to complete the process in about a month.