PHOENIX – A public “Open House” and dedication on Saturday morning, August 16, at the soon-to-be-completed Loop 303/I-10 Traffic Interchange in Goodyear will provide local residents and visitors with a chance to walk, jog, skate or cycle beneath the elevated ramps that will soon carry traffic between the two freeways.

Governor Jan Brewer is scheduled to join Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord, ADOT Director John Halikowski and other dignitaries at the event to mark the upcoming completion of the interchange as well as other recently-completed Loop 303 projects north of I-10. The interchange is scheduled to open to traffic in September.

The Loop 303 dedication event will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. on August 16 along the new westbound I-10 frontage road that also was built as part of the $145 million freeway-to-freeway interchange project.

Parking will be available on the eastbound I-10 frontage road east of Citrus Road, south of I-10, in Goodyear. Those attending the event will then be able to walk or roll through the Cotton Lane underpass beneath I-10 and have an up-close view of the large ramps at the interchange.

For safety reasons, visitors will not be able to walk, jog or ride along the elevated ramps at the interchange.

Governor Brewer will speak at a ribbon-cutting ceremony starting at 9 a.m.

The Open House and dedication also will celebrate the completion of ADOT’s recent series of projects to improve Loop 303 from an older two-lane highway to a six-lane freeway traveling north and south from Goodyear to Surprise.

PHOENIX – The planned early opening of one of the ramps that will soon connect Interstate 10 and Loop 303 in the West Valley will not take place this weekend, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

ADOT has decided to postpone opening the eastbound I-10 ramp to northbound Loop 303 until overhead lighting is in place for all four of the ramps that will connect the two freeways.

Plans had called for crews to open the eastbound I-10 ramp to northbound Loop 303 ahead of schedule to reduce the amount of traffic using the construction detour route along McDowell Road and Cotton Lane.

The new ramp and three others at the I-10/Loop 303 interchange will instead open on schedule in September.

Work on the $145 million interchange connecting I-10 and Loop 303 began in November 2011.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has scheduled a pair of informational meetings about three future Loop 303 improvement projects in the Sun Cities and Surprise area.

The trio of projects will widen Loop 303 to three lanes in each direction between Grand Avenue (US 60) and Happy Valley Parkway, improve the Grand Avenue/Loop 303 traffic interchange and construct a new interchange at the El Mirage Road connection with the freeway.

The meetings are scheduled as follows:

• Wednesday, Feb. 26 – 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
  Palm Ridge Recreation Center
  Summit Hall B
  13800 W. Deer Valley Drive
  Sun City West

• Tuesday, March 11 – 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
  Sagebrush Ballroom
  19753 N. Remington Drive
  Surprise

ADOT project team members will be on hand to provide updates about the upcoming projects and answer questions from attendees. The projects are currently in various stages of design.

The project to widen approximately six miles of the freeway from four to six lanes (three in each direction) between US 60 and Happy Valley Parkway is expected to break ground this summer.

The two projects to improve the interchange at the Loop 303 and Grand Avenue and add an interchange with ramps at El Mirage Road are expected to start by early 2015. The three projects are scheduled for completion in 2016.

The projects are funded as part of the Maricopa Association of Governments’ 20-Year Regional Transportation Plan approved by county voters in 2004.

For information about ADOT freeway-related projects in the Phoenix region visit azdot.gov/projects or call 1.855.712.8530.

PHOENIX – After opening a dozen miles of new lanes along Loop 303 west of Phoenix this year, the Arizona Department of Transportation is looking ahead to completing the expanded freeway north of Interstate 10 in 2014.

That will include finishing the largest ongoing highway project in the state: the $145 million freeway-to-freeway interchange that will directly connect Loop 303 to Interstate 10 in Goodyear.

[[{"fid":"7077","view_mode":"full","fields":{"format":"full","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"View of Loop 303/ I-10 Ramps","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Loop 303/I-10 Interchange Ramps"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"full","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"View of Loop 303/ I-10 Ramps","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Loop 303/I-10 Interchange Ramps"}},"attributes":{"alt":"View of Loop 303/ I-10 Ramps","title":"Loop 303/I-10 Interchange Ramps","height":"960","width":"1280","style":"width: 400px; height: 300px; margin: 10px; float: right;","class":"media-element file-full","data-delta":"1"}}]]Under the Maricopa Association of Governments’ 20-year Regional Transportation Plan for the greater Phoenix area, ADOT launched a series of projects in 2011 to upgrade Loop 303 from a two-lane rural highway to a safer six-lane urban freeway. For the first time, drivers are accessing Loop 303 by using on- and off-ramps at several major intersections.

In July, ADOT opened the three new southbound Loop 303 lanes between Peoria Avenue and Mountain View Boulevard, just south of Grand Avenue (US 60). Crews fully opened all three northbound lanes between Peoria Avenue and Bell Road in September, after work to add a layer of smooth rubberized asphalt was completed.

The segment between Peoria and Glendale avenues was completely opened in November. The new segment between Camelback and Thomas roads also opened this fall, while crews continue to work on finishing the stretch between Camelback Road and Glendale Avenue by summer 2014.

[[{"fid":"7078","view_mode":"full","fields":{"format":"full","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"View of Loop 303 & I-10 Ramps under construction","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Loop 303/I-10 Interchange Ramps"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"full","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"View of Loop 303 & I-10 Ramps under construction","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Loop 303/I-10 Interchange Ramps"}},"attributes":{"alt":"View of Loop 303 & I-10 Ramps under construction","title":"Loop 303/I-10 Interchange Ramps","height":"960","width":"1280","style":"width: 400px; height: 300px; margin: 10px; float: left;","class":"media-element file-full","data-delta":"1"}}]]The Loop 303/I-10 interchange, featuring several elevated ramps to connect the two freeways, I-10 frontage roads and major improvements to local roads in the area, is scheduled for completion by fall 2014. Crews broke ground on the project in November 2011.

View an ADOT video about progress on the Loop 303 construction.

PHOENIX - There's more progress to report about Loop 303 construction in the West Valley. The Arizona Department of Transportation has opened new lanes along Loop 303 between Glendale and Peoria avenues. Crews worked over the weekend to switch traffic in that area from a construction bypass route to the new freeway lanes north of Glendale Avenue. 

Three new southbound lanes are now open along the three-mile stretch of Loop 303 between Peoria and Glendale avenues, according to ADOT. Drivers also have one northbound lane until work is completed in the next couple of weeks to add a top layer of rubberized asphalt all the way north to Bell Road.  

Drivers can still expect northbound Loop 303 closures between Cactus and Bell roads over the next two weekends for the paving work that will set the stage for all three northbound lanes to be opened.

ADOT is overseeing a series of projects to expand Loop 303 from a two-lane highway to a six-lane freeway between Interstate 10 and Grand Avenue by late next year. The $65 million Loop 303 improvement project between Glendale and Peoria avenues will be completed later this fall and will include direct ramp connections to and from the east-west Northern Parkway.

Funding for all the ongoing Loop 303 projects between I-10 and Grand Avenue comes from the Maricopa Association of Government's Regional Transportation Plan, which county voters approved nearly a decade ago (2004).