The freeway then skims the northern bank of the Salt River as it passes through Tempe with its downtown skyline visible across the Town Lake.

Next, it passes through Chandler, serving the namesake airport and encountering SR 87 again about one mile (1.6 km) south of the downtown area.

Near Komatke, the freeway curves northward and cuts through the western foothills of the South Mountain Preserve, with a direct interchange to a hotel and casino.

Loop 202 takes up the 59th Avenue alignment through the warehouse districts before finally terminating at milepost 78 with I-10 (Papago Freeway) about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) west of Downtown Phoenix.

Together, these segments form a 21.9-mile (35.2 km) bypass around Downtown Phoenix, linking the metropolitan area's southwestern and southeastern suburbs.

Construction was delayed due to tension between three groups: regional transportation planners, who insisted that the freeway was necessary to ensure smooth traffic flow in the coming decades;[21] residents of the adjacent Ahwatukee community, who would have lost 120 homes to eminent domain depending on the road's final alignment; and leaders and residents of the adjoining Gila River Indigenous Community (GRIC), who have oscillated between opposing and supporting the freeway in recent years.

[24] A federal study in 2001 required ADOT to reexamine those suggestions, and the task of recommending the final alignment fell to a Citizen's Advisory Team formed in 2002.

[25][26] Two months later, ADOT overruled the panel's suggestion for the western segment and opted for the current 59th Avenue alignment instead.

[27] MAG sent out a press release soon after making it clear that construction of the freeway would move forward as planned along the Pecos Road alignment.

[21] Expecting this outcome, MAG and ADOT had previously (in 2010) shrunk the freeway's footprint from 10 lanes to eight to minimize its impact on Ahwatukee.

A non-profit group called the Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment filed a civil-rights complaint with ADOT in July, claiming the freeway would disproportionately and adversely affect tribe members.

A freeway opposition group called Protecting Arizona's Resources and Children planned an environmental lawsuit.

The EPA claimed that the statement contained overly optimistic traffic projections, did not sufficiently address air quality concerns, and could harm neighboring communities and environmental resources.

[34] In March 2015, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued a Record of Decision approving the project and selecting a build alternative.

ADOT immediately thereafter commenced right-of-way acquisition and the procurement of final design and construction services in the form of a design-build-maintain contractor or "developer."

However, new lawsuits in June 2015 from the group Protecting Arizona's Resources and Children, the Sierra Club, and the Gila River Indigenous Community threatened to delay the freeway's construction.

The final part of Loop 202 to open was the diamond interchange with Lindsay Road (exit 43) on the SanTan Freeway section in Gilbert.

It continues west, intersecting the Hohokam Expressway (SR 143) and ends at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.