MAG partnership helps ADOT make quick freeway improvements in Valley

ADOT has received a lot of positive public and news media attention for a project that added much-needed second lane through restriping at the northbound I-17 exit to Loop 303 and Sonoran Desert Drive. But we didn’t do it alone. 

Our valued partners at the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), the regional transportation planning agency, made this improvement possible through the Freeway Life Cycle Program funded by Maricopa County’s half-cent sales tax. In addition to allowing large freeway projects to advance, the Freeway Life Cycle Program sets aside $10 million annually for smaller scale improvements such as adding exit lanes and restriping travel lanes.

This recent news release from MAG explains how this advanced the $2.1 million improvement at I-17 and Loop 303. The program is also behind a $4.3 million restriping project to ease congestion at SR 51 and Loop 101 in the North Valley and $4.2 million programmed for near-term traffic improvements at US 60 (Grand Avenue) and Loop 303. 

The extra northbound exit lane from I-17 to Loop 303 opened last month. The picture above shows final striping completed this week. 

“Having the flexibility to rapidly adjust to changing transportation needs in the region is one of the many benefits of the half-cent sales tax for transportation, authorized by voters through Proposition 400 and Proposition 479,” Glendale Mayor Jerry P. Weiers, Chair of MAG’s Transportation Policy Committee, said in the news release. “The ability to use the funding in ways that have an immediate impact on people’s daily lives keeps progress moving forward.” 

You’re no doubt used to hearing us credit MAG, Propositions 400 and 479, and the half-cent sales tax when discussing major expansions such as current projects adding lanes to Loop 101 (Agua Fria Freeway), Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) and the Loop 202 (Santan Freeway). There’s great excitement about more involved improvements starting soon at Loop 303 and I-17 through the first project funded by Proposition 479, which is succeeding Proposition 400.

While all that is going on, our interim improvement at I-17 and Loop 303 demonstrates how the investment Maricopa County voters have made in transportation helps ADOT do even more to safely connect people and empower the economy.