ADOT opens two ramps connecting Loop 303, Interstate 10

PHOENIX - Drivers in the Goodyear area, west of Phoenix, have a new and improved way to travel between Interstate 10 and the Loop 303 freeway, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Crews building the interchange linking I-10 and Loop 303 in Goodyear opened two elevated ramps this morning, providing drivers with the first-ever direct connections between the two freeways.

One of the new ramps connects southbound Loop 303 traffic to eastbound I-10, while the second ramp provides eastbound I-10 traffic with a faster way to reach northbound Loop 303.

ADOT expects to open two remaining ramps at the interchange by September.

Construction on the $145 million freeway-to-freeway interchange started in November 2011.

Governor Jan Brewer and other dignitaries took part in a dedication ceremony at the interchange on Saturday. ADOT and Goodyear also hosted local residents at an "open house" tour of the project's job site Saturday morning.

Officials on Saturday not only celebrated the upcoming completion of the Loop 303/I-10 interchange project but also the recent series of ADOT projects to reconstruct 12 miles of Loop 303 into a six-lane freeway between I-10 in Goodyear and Grand Avenue in Surprise.

The Loop 303 improvement projects are funded through the Maricopa Association of Governments' 20-year Regional Transportation Plan approved by county voters in 2004.