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Drone photos tell story of Loop 101 bridge work in north Valley

Drone photos tell story of Loop 101 bridge work in north Valley

By Doug Nintzel / ADOT Communications
October 8, 2019

Loop 101: Miller Road & 7th Street Overpass

The project to add lanes along Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) in the north Phoenix and Scottsdale areas involves a lot of work to either widen existing bridges or, as is the case west of Hayden Road, build an all-new crossing over a future local street.

We sent a drone operated by ADOT’s video team above a couple of locations along Loop 101 where bridge work is taking place.

As part of the $185 million project that will add lanes along 13 miles of Loop 101 between Interstate 17 and Pima Road/Princess Drive, crews also are widening the freeway bridge over Seventh Street. Our first and second ADOT drone photos show the portions of the Loop 101 bridge being widened to accommodate new freeway lanes.

Two of the ramps at the Loop 101/Seventh Street interchange are currently closed for reconstruction and bridge work. The westbound Loop 101 on-ramp and eastbound off-ramp are closed until March 2020. Drivers should continue to use alternate routes, including the open freeway ramps at Seventh Avenue.

The second site, as seen in the last two drone photos, is where initial work has begun to build the new Loop 101 bridge that will allow a stretch of Miller Road to travel beneath the freeway.

You can see how Loop 101 traffic is using temporary “construction bypass” lanes in each direction to travel around the area where the new freeway bridge is being built. Traffic was switched to the bypass lanes back in August. They’re scheduled to be in use until summer 2020.

The city of Scottsdale plans to extend Miller Road in the future. So this new Loop 101 bridge was included in the Maricopa Association of Governments’ plans for this regional freeway improvement project.

The entire Loop 101 Pima Freeway Improvement Project, which started in February, is scheduled for completion in early 2021. 

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