PHOENIX – The Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway has its first splash of color, with a little inspiration from Frank Lloyd Wright.

Crews recently gave the future 40th Street traffic interchange in Ahwatukee desert earth-tone base paint, which will be used throughout the 22-mile corridor, along with a reddish accent color resembling an ocotillo flower on the retaining walls, abutments and bridge barriers.

It’s the first of 40 bridges on the project to be painted by Connect 202 Partners, the developer of the South Mountain Freeway.

The aesthetics of the South Mountain Freeway include designs celebrating some of Frank Lloyd Wright’s early experiments in desert architecture, as the modern architect had a camp, called “Ocotillo,” in the late 1920s in the area now known as Ahwatukee.

ADOT partnered with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to design aesthetics for bridges, sound walls and other freeway elements that honor Wright’s early works in Arizona.

Approximately 160 gallons of paint, enough to paint the exterior of 13 homes, was needed to spray paint the 40th Street bridge.

The base paint complements the color of South Mountain, the desert terrain and the area’s vegetation, according to Joseph Salazar, ADOT’s roadside development, project landscape and architecture coordinator. 

“ADOT had a unique opportunity with this project to partner with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and use freeway aesthetics to tell a story by showing differences in land uses, landforms and history as you progress throughout the 22-mile corridor,” Salazar said. “There are several elements, including the earth tone base paint, that occur throughout the freeway corridor and serve to tie various aesthetic areas together in one project.”

This base paint will be consistent throughout the freeway corridor, but there will be several accent paint colors, along with five distinctive aesthetic character areas. The Ahwatukee Foothills/Cholla Ocotillo segment, for example, will feature desert plants and simple shapes based on the forms of native cholla and ocotillo plants, while aesthetics and landscaping in the Laveen Village/River Bank segment will speak to the area’s agricultural heritage.

The next bridges scheduled to be painted are the Roosevelt bridge in west Phoenix and the 17th Avenue overpass in Ahwatukee. These are expected to occur in the spring.

The South Mountain Freeway will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to I-10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, the South Mountain Freeway will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley.

For more information on the South Mountain Freeway, visit SouthMountainFreeway.com.

PHOENIX – Beginning the week of Feb. 26, work will start on relocating a city of Phoenix waterline located within the footprint of Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway construction in Ahwatukee.

A new 48-inch wide pipe approximately 6,700 feet long will be installed along Liberty Lane between Desert Foothills Parkway and 24th Street.

This work will require limiting Liberty Lane traffic to one-way traffic until June. Eastbound traffic will be maintained, but the westbound and center lanes will be closed to complete the waterline relocation, which will require digging several trenches.

The Arizona Department of Transportation and city of Phoenix are working with Connect 202 Partners, developer of the South Mountain Freeway, to ensure access will be maintained to schools, gyms, churches and local streets along Liberty Lane. Additionally, they are working to ensure water service is maintained. In the event temporary water shut-offs are needed, residents and businesses will be notified in advance.

Connecting the new water main to existing water mains along Desert Foothills Parkway and 24th Street will require those mains to be temporarily out of service. In order to meet the demands of higher water use during the summer months, these connections need to be in place by June.

Regular work hours will occur from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday until May 1 and then 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. after May 1, although weekend and overnight work may be necessary. The speed limit will be reduced to 25 mph through the work zone.

This is one of several waterline relocations needed to construct the 22-mile freeway.

The South Mountain Freeway will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to Interstate 10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, the South Mountain Freeway will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions, but unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule. To stay up to date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov or call 511.

For more information, visit SouthMountainFreeway.com.

PHOENIX – As work progresses on reconstructing Interstate 10 ramps between 51st and 67th avenues for construction on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, the eastbound I-10 off-ramp at 67th Avenue will close beginning Wednesday, Feb. 21. The ramp is scheduled to reopen on April 2.

As an alternative, eastbound I-10 motorists should consider exiting the freeway at 75th or 59th avenues.

This is one of several I-10 ramps that must be removed and reconstructed to tie into the wider I-10 that will include connecting ramps to and from the South Mountain Freeway when it opens late 2019.

The I-10 westbound off-ramp at 51st Avenue (scheduled to reopen March 3) and I-10 eastbound on-ramp at 51st Avenue (scheduled to reopen late March) remain closed.

Long-term and permanent closures of existing on-and-off ramps are necessary between 51st and 67th avenues until new access roads are completed by fall 2018.

Work schedules and restrictions are subject to change due to inclement weather or other factors. To stay up to date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information Center at az511.gov or call 511.

PHOENIX – After moving more than 450,000 cubic yards of earth, enough to fill up 150 Olympic-size swimming pools, construction on the Southern Avenue traffic interchange for the South Mountain Freeway remains on track to reopen Southern next month between 61st Avenue and 64th Place in Laveen.

The closure of Southern Avenue that began Nov. 27 has allowed crews to safely move this large amount of dirt without having to cross local traffic and has accelerated construction of the southern half of the interchange as the Arizona Department of Transportation moves even closer to opening the 22-mile freeway by late 2019.

This work has required motorists to temporarily detour between 51st and 67th avenues, with Broadway and Baseline roads as options, until this first phase of construction is complete.

In addition to the extensive earthwork, crews have completed substantial work that isn’t visible as it occurred below grade, including installing underground utilities and drainage structures. Above ground, crews have built bridge columns and retaining walls that will support a 125-foot-long bridge and have removed the existing roadway.

Today, crews started work to pave the eastbound lanes that motorists in both directions will share until the westbound lanes are built at a later date.

When the northern half of the interchange is complete, the westbound lanes will be paved to complete the widening of Southern Avenue (one lane in each direction along with dedicated left- and right-turn lanes).  A full closure of Southern Avenue won’t be necessary for this phase of work, though occasional overnight closures will be needed to place bridge girders and pour the bridge deck.

After the Southern Avenue closure is lifted, additional work will include paving the ramps and mainline freeway, installing signage, constructing retaining walls, finishing construction of the Southern Avenue bridge, completing final striping and adding landscaping.

The South Mountain Freeway will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to I-10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, the South Mountain Freeway will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley.

For more information on the South Mountain Freeway, visit SouthMountainFreeway.com.

PHOENIX ‒ One year after major construction began on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, bridges have been built from the ground up, a massive amount of earth has been moved and compacted, and an emerging I-10 interchange has changed the West Valley skyline.

The South Mountain Freeway is more than 35 percent complete from design to utilities to right-of-way acquisition to construction. Work is currently underway in all but one section of the 22-mile corridor. To date, crews have installed 8 miles of drainage pipe, moved 3.6 million cubic yards of dirt and used 2,900 tons of rebar manufactured from recycled steel.

In 2018, construction will expand as the Arizona Department of Transportation moves toward opening the freeway by late 2019.

Work is scheduled to begin this spring in the Center segment, a 3-mile stretch between 51st Avenue southeast and 32nd Lane.

This week, ADOT and Connect 202 Partners, the developer responsible for the design and construction of the South Mountain Freeway, detailed construction for the first half of 2018 with the corridor’s third semiannual construction notice, which is available at SouthMountainFreeway.com (click Construction Info).

Some of the 2018 highlights include:

I-10 segment (I-10 Papago to Lower Buckeye Road and improvements to I-10 between 43rd and 75th avenues)

• Constructing new access roads parallel to I-10 between 51st and 67th avenues  that will replace direct freeway access at 59th Avenue
• Continuing construction of an I-10 interchange with six ramps, including two direct HOV lane connections
• Completing the bridge over Roosevelt Street

Salt River segment (Lower Buckeye Road to 51st Avenue)

• Opening an Elliot Road bridge over the freeway alignment
• Starting Estrella Drive interchange construction, which will require a 150-day closure of Estrella Drive between 51st and 59th avenues
• Completing two half-mile-long bridges, the longest of project, over the Salt River (by end of 2018)
• Constructing a bridge at Baseline Road and 61st Avenue

Center segment (51st Avenue to 32nd Lane)

• Conducting pre-construction work, including plant salvage and geotechnical investigations (starting in early 2018)
• Starting controlled rock blasting along two ridges on southwestern edge of the South Mountain Park to break large rock into smaller, more manageable pieces

Pecos segment (32nd Lane to I-10 Maricopa/Loop 202 Santan Freeway)

• Detouring traffic on Desert Foothills Parkway for bridge construction
• Completing bridges at 17th Avenue and 40th Street and continuing construction of bridges at 24th and 32nd streets, work that will require some weekend and night closures of cross streets
• Beginning work on freeway paving (by late 2018)
• Completing controlled rock blasting along Pecos Road between Desert Foothills Parkway and 24th Street to break large rock into smaller, more manageable pieces (through mid-2018)

The South Mountain Freeway will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to I-10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, the South Mountain Freeway will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley.

You can learn more about the South Mountain Freeway project and sign up for updates and weekly traffic alerts by visiting SouthMountainFreeway.com.

PHOENIX – Changes are in store for motorists in the West Valley as multiple ramps leading to and from Interstate 10 will be permanently closed and reconfigured over the next several months to make room for an interchange connecting to the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway. This will also require several weekend closures of I-10 until ramp work is completed this fall.

In place of the ramps, the Arizona Department of Transportation and Connect 202 Partners, the developer responsible for building the South Mountain Freeway, will construct new roadways parallel to I-10 providing local access between 51st and 67th avenues that will permanently replace freeway access at 59th Avenue.

The first ramp closure is scheduled for the I-10 westbound off-ramp at 51st Avenue, which will be closed from Saturday, Jan. 27, to Saturday, March 3. In conjunction with this ramp closure, westbound I-10 will be closed between 43rd and 59th avenues from 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26, and 5 a.m. Monday, Jan. 29.

The construction of the new access roads, which will be completed over the next nine months, will change how drivers access I-10 between 51st and 67th avenues. Motorists will have dedicated on- and off-ramps at 67th Avenue in addition to the access road.

Motorists wishing to enter or exit the freeway in this area will eventually use these new 2-mile-long roadways to access local streets, similar to the I-10 stretch between 91st and 107th avenues near the Loop 101 junction. For example, a driver on westbound I-10 needing to get off at 59th Avenue will exit at 51st Avenue and travel west on the access road to 59th Avenue.

This work will require weekend closures of I-10 as well as long-term and permanent closures of existing on- and off-ramps. During the weekend closures, traffic will be diverted to McDowell Road or Van Buren Street.

The I-10 ramp closures are expected to last approximately 30-60 days for each ramp.

Visit SouthMountainFreeway.com and az511.gov for the latest traffic restrictions.  Commuters should allow extra travel time and consider using other routes, use Valley Metro express bus routes or go to SharetheRide.com and look for a carpool or vanpool.

The South Mountain Freeway, which is scheduled to open in late 2019, will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to I-10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, the South Mountain Freeway will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley.