Loop 303 interchanges project named finalist for national honors
Loop 303 interchanges project named finalist for national honors
America’s Transportation Awards cites community development benefits
PHOENIX – An Arizona Department of Transportation project that constructed Loop 303 interchanges at 43rd and 51st avenues near Interstate 17 has been named a top 12 finalist in the 2024 America’s Transportation Awards competition.
This designation makes the $70 million Loop 303 project eligible for two different honors: the Grand Prize and the People’s Choice Award. The competition is sponsored by AASHTO, an association representing highway and transportation departments nationwide, as well as AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Through Oct. 29, you can vote once daily for the People’s Choice Award by visiting americastransportationawards.org. The Grand Prize will be decided by an independent panel of transportation experts. Both awards will be presented at AASHTO’s annual meeting in Philadelphia.
ADOT partnered with the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), the regional transportation planning agency, and city of Phoenix to accelerate construction of the Loop 303 bridges and ramps to address current and future traffic growth near the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plant in the north Valley. The interchanges were completed in September 2023, several years sooner than originally planned.
“With a large semiconductor manufacturing facility under construction, these two interchanges are connecting Arizonans and empowering our state’s economy,” ADOT Director Jennifer Toth said. “This collaboration with the Maricopa Association of Governments and city of Phoenix also supports continued development and growth of businesses and services, including health care and housing.”
Earlier this year, the project earned a West Region award in the America’s Transportation Awards “Quality of Life/Community Development, Medium Project” category among state departments of transportation.
Construction of new Loop 303 interchanges at 43rd and 51st avenues was funded through the dedicated Proposition 400 half-cent sales tax approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004. The project is part of the Phoenix area’s Regional Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Investment Plan managed by MAG.
The new interchanges were designed to help manage future transportation needs in the area, support the Phoenix area’s growing semiconductor footprint and its supply chain, and allow for community development, including businesses and services.
ADOT manages the construction and maintenance of nearly 7,000 miles of state highways, including Phoenix-area freeways. Project information is available at azdot.gov/projects.