PHOENIX – With Valley drivers benefiting from several freeway improvement projects completed during 2016, including the widening of Loop 101 between Shea Boulevard and Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) in the Scottsdale area, the Arizona Department of Transportation is poised to start or complete several Phoenix-area projects in the coming year.

ADOT’s highlights for the regional freeway system in 2017 include:

• Beginning construction of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway. Work scheduled for the first half of 2017 includes setting foundations for some of the 40 bridges planned, widening eastbound lanes of Pecos Road to accommodate two-way traffic during construction, creating access roads near the freeway’s future interchange with Interstate 10 in west Phoenix and creating drainage structures. This 22-mile direct link between the East Valley and West Valley will open by late 2019.
• Opening the south half of the Interstate 10/Loop 303 interchange in Goodyear by fall. The $63 million project, launched last February, will complete freeway-to-freeway ramps and extend Loop 303 south to Van Buren Street. Loop 303 traffic will then have direct connections to and from Cotton Lane south of I-10. The north half of the I-10/Loop 303 interchange opened to traffic in August 2014.
• Resurfacing an 11-mile stretch of Interstate 17 between 19th and Peoria avenues in Phoenix in spring 2017. Crews will add a new layer of smooth, durable rubberized asphalt along the Black Canyon Freeway when warmer spring weather provides the best conditions for the resurfacing work. Rubberized asphalt, which has been used on Valley freeways for several years, includes rubber from shredded recycled tires as part of the pavement’s mixture.
• Completion of the new Bell Road/Grand Avenue interchange in Surprise by spring 2017. The $42 million project started last February. Crews opened the new bridge carrying Bell Road over Grand Avenue and the parallel BNSF Railway tracks on Nov. 22. New ramps connecting Grand Avenue to and from the Bell Road bridge are scheduled for completion in time for the Cactus League baseball season in late February.
• Installing Loop 202 (Santan Freeway) traffic-management technology between Ray and Broadway roads in Mesa. The project, scheduled to start by summer 2017, will add several overhead message signs, closed-circuit traffic cameras and traffic-flow sensors along the Santan Freeway. The technology allows ADOT to provide travelers with updated freeway conditions. A current ADOT Freeway Management System project along Loop 202 between Dobson and Ray roads is scheduled for completion in spring 2017.

ADOT’s 2016 Valley freeway construction accomplishments include:

• Completing $109 million in Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) improvements between Loop 101 and Broadway Road, adding new travel lanes between Loop 101 and Gilbert Road, extending HOV lanes by 11 miles between Gilbert and Broadway Roads and resurfacing the roadway with rubberized asphalt.
• Completing $74 million in Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) improvements between Shea Boulevard and Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) in the Scottsdale area, a project that added new right lanes and paved 11 miles of roadway with rubberized asphalt.
• Widening Loop 303 to three lanes in each direction between Grand Avenue (US 60) and Happy Valley Parkway in the northwest Valley, a $30 million project that wrapped up in 2016 with rubberized asphalt paving.
• Performing preliminary construction for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.  Work began in September with improvements to the I-10/Loop 202 Santan Freeway interchange in the Ahwatukee area.
• Opening State Route 51 ramps to and from Black Mountain Boulevard at the Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) interchange. ADOT teamed with the city of Phoenix on this $17.8 million project to improve access in the Desert Ridge area of northeast Phoenix.

ADOT works with the Maricopa Association of Governments, the Phoenix area’s metropolitan planning organization, to schedule and deliver projects as part of the 20-year Regional Transportation Plan approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004. Funding sources include a countywide half-cent sales tax dedicated to transportation improvements as well as the Phoenix region’s share of state and federal transportation funds.

PHOENIX – Drivers in the northwest Valley are using a wider stretch of freeway this morning after the Arizona Department of Transportation on Thursday opened new lanes along Loop 303 between Grand Avenue in Surprise and Happy Valley Parkway in Peoria.

In less than two years, this seven-mile stretch of Loop 303 has been improved from a four-lane highway to a safer freeway, with three travel lanes in each direction. The wider freeway is part of $96 million in projects that also added new Loop 303 interchanges at Grand Avenue and El Mirage Road.

This milestone also is part of a series of major Loop 303 projects that ADOT launched in 2009 to provide the West Valley with 35 miles of continuous freeway from Interstate 17 in north Phoenix to Interstate 10 in Goodyear. The projects are included in the Maricopa Association of Governments’ 20-year Regional Transportation Plan approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004.

In addition, Loop 303 serves as an integral part of the economic development plans of West Valley communities.

Crews working on the newest stretch of a wider Loop 303 completed their lane-striping work and opened the full complement of three new lanes in each direction Thursday. The roadway had been limited to one lane in each direction while recent work was underway. 

Temporary lane restrictions will be scheduled at times along Loop 303 between Happy Valley Parkway and El Mirage Road as part of final project work over the next few weeks, but no major traffic impacts are expected.

Here’s an overview of the three major ADOT projects that have improved Loop 303 in the northwest Valley:

• Loop 303 Reconstruction Project between Grand Avenue and Happy Valley Parkway: $29.8 million project provided a wider stretch of Loop 303 and other improvements, including neighborhood sound walls adjacent to the freeway. Launched in August 2014, the project was finished in summer 2015. Final paving and lane striping in this area also was scheduled as part of the follow-on project to construct the new Loop 303/El Mirage Road Traffic Interchange.
• Loop 303/Grand Avenue Interchange Project: $46 million project has reconstructed the interchange linking Loop 303 and Grand Avenue, adding a new northbound Loop 303 bridge and providing new on- and off-ramps connecting the roadways. Launched in December 2014, the project was opened to traffic this spring.
• Loop 303/El Mirage Road Traffic Interchange Project: $19.9 million project allowed crews to build Loop 303 bridges over El Mirage Road while providing new on- and off-ramps connecting the two roadways. The project also completed final paving and lane-striping along Loop 303 between Grand Avenue and Happy Valley Parkway. Started in February 2015, the last of the work for the project will be completed this summer.

For more information about ADOT freeway projects in the Phoenix area and additional projects across Arizona visit azdot.gov/projects.

PHOENIX – Loop 303 will remain closed west of Interstate 17 through 3 a.m. Saturday as production of a motion picture continues.

The Arizona Department of Transportation is allowing Paramount Pictures additional time to film “Transformers 5: The Last Knight” between I-17 and Lake Pleasant Parkway in the north Valley. Traffic through this area is detouring east- and westbound on State Route 74.

While Loop 303 is closed between I-17 and Lake Pleasant Parkway:

• I-17 drivers can use westbound SR 74 to southbound Lake Pleasant Parkway to reach westbound/southbound Loop 303.
• Eastbound Loop 303 drivers can exit at Lake Pleasant Parkway and travel north to eastbound SR 74 to connect with I-17.

The production has had 300 people at locations in Arizona for nearly three weeks, boosting the economy through meals, lodging, fuel purchases and more. It has hired local companies for a variety of services, including equipment rental, transportation and construction.

ADOT regularly issues permits at no cost to film within highway right of way. The agency’s requirements for film permits safeguard taxpayer dollars and the taxpayers’ investment in state highways. This includes making sure there is no cost to the state.

For updated state highway conditions visit ADOT’s Travel Information site at az511.gov or call 511. ADOT also provides travel information via Twitter (@ArizonaDOT).

PHOENIX – A section of Loop 303 west of Interstate 17 will be closed Friday through Wednesday (June 15), according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Loop 303 is scheduled to be closed between I-17 and Lake Pleasant Parkway from 2 a.m. Friday to 11:30 p.m. Wednesday for permit activity. Traffic will instead be detoured east- and westbound on State Route 74, two miles north of the Loop 303 alignment.

While Loop 303 is closed between I-17 and Lake Pleasant Parkway:

• I-17 drivers can use westbound SR 74 to southbound Lake Pleasant Parkway to reach westbound/southbound Loop 303.
• Eastbound Loop 303 drivers can exit at Lake Pleasant Parkway and travel north to eastbound SR 74 to connect with I-17.

For updated state highway conditions visit ADOT’s Travel Information site at az511.gov or call 511. ADOT also provides travel information via Twitter (@ArizonaDOT).

PHOENIX – New ramps connecting Loop 303 and Grand Avenue (US 60) in Surprise will open to traffic this weekend, a key milestone for the project to improve the interchange that links the two roadways.

The northbound Loop 303 on- and off-ramps and southbound Loop 303 on-ramp at Grand Avenue are scheduled to open by 11:30 p.m. Friday (April 1), according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Prior to opening the ramps to traffic, Loop 303 and current connections with Grand Avenue will be temporarily closed at approximately 10 p.m. Friday. The temporary traffic signals on the Loop 303 bridge over Grand Avenue will be turned off and the ramps will be prepared to open to traffic.

A ramp that currently handles all Grand Avenue connections will be reconfigured over the weekend to connect southbound Loop 303 to Grand Avenue by 5 a.m. Monday (April 4). Drivers on southbound Loop 303 who want to exit at Grand Avenue this weekend can travel south to the Bell Road exit. From there they can turn and use northbound Loop 303 to exit at Grand Avenue.

The entire $46 million Loop 303/Grand Avenue Interchange improvement project is scheduled for completion this summer.

SURPRISE ‒ Next weekend, Grand Avenue (US 60) will be closed from 9 p.m. March 18, to 7 p.m. March 20, between R.H. Johnson Boulevard/Sunrise Boulevard and Loop 303 to accommodate freeway bridge work, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Motorists should plan ahead and consider alternate routes while the closure is in effect.

The primary detour for Grand Avenue traffic will be along Loop 303 and Bell Road. Southbound Loop 303 drivers in the Peoria area can connect with Grand Avenue via southbound El Mirage Road and westbound Bell Road.

Depending on their destination, motorists heading southeast on US 60 may want to consider eastbound State Route 74 to southbound Lake Pleasant Parkway or southbound I-17.

Traffic on Loop 303 won’t be affected by the Grand Avenue closure.

Crews will be painting the bridge and installing sound panels and signage at the Loop 303/Grand Avenue interchange as part of a $46 million ADOT project scheduled for completion this summer.

To stay up to date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information System at az511.gov or call 511.

PHOENIX – Work to complete the freeway-to-freeway interchange linking Loop 303 with Interstate 10 in Goodyear is underway this week, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

As part of the $83 million project to build the south half of the traffic interchange, crews will complete the four remaining ramps to connect the two freeways and extend Loop 303 south to Van Buren Street. The improvements also will allow traffic to make connections between Loop 303 and Cotton Lane south of Van Buren Street.

The project is the second of two phases to construct the interchange and is scheduled to be completed by early 2018.

The north half of the interchange, which opened to traffic in August 2014, already allows drivers to save travel time by making direct connections on the ramps between I-10 and Loop 303 north of the interstate.

In the initial stages of the new project, crews will work on building a paved construction-bypass route along Van Buren Street near Cotton Lane. The temporary lanes will allow Van Buren Street traffic to use a curved detour route around freeway bridge construction. The bypass will limit restrictions and allow crews to safely build a new Loop 303 bridge over Van Buren Street without traffic traveling directly under the structure.

The first stage of work also will focus on construction of the westbound I-10 to southbound Loop 303 ramp and the northbound Loop 303 to westbound I-10 ramp. The project also will add ramps connecting eastbound I-10 to southbound Loop 303 as well as northbound Loop 303 to eastbound I-10.

The improvement work will require temporary lane restrictions and closures near the interchange. Portions of the I-10 frontage roads in areas between Sarival Avenue and Citrus Road will be closed at times.

The project also will add a top layer of smooth rubberized asphalt on I-10 in the area of the Loop 303 interchange.

Funding for the new project is provided through the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Regional Transportation Plan approved by county voters in 2004. Sources of construction funds in the regional plan include a local half-cent sales tax for transportation and the Phoenix region’s share of federal highway funds.