With construction set to begin later this year on Interstate 17 between Anthem Way and Sunset Point, the Arizona Department of Transportation is hosting two public meetings to share information and answer questions. 

ADOT encourages everyone to participate to find out what to expect while work is underway through 2025, and how the improvements will help reduce congestion and enhance safety and traffic flow along this busy 23-mile stretch of highway north of Phoenix. 

Anyone can attend one or both meetings to learn more, provide input and ask questions. 

PARTICIPATE VIRTUALLY: A virtual public meeting is scheduled from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31. ADOT’s project team will provide an overview and answer questions from meeting participants. To join the meeting, visit http://www.improvingi17.com/ at 5:45 p.m. on March 31 and follow the link to the WebEx presentation.

PARTICIPATE IN PERSON: Join the project team for an open house at Canon Elementary School, 34630 School Loop Road in Black Canyon City, on Tuesday, April 26. The open house begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by a presentation at 6 p.m. The open house will continue from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

For those who can’t make it to either meeting, there is a third option to find out about the project and ask questions. Beginning March 31 and continuing through April 26, anyone can walk through a virtual open house at http://www.improvingi17.com/. This standing open house via the project website will provide the same information as the virtual and in-person public meetings, but can be viewed at your convenience. There will still be opportunities to ask questions or make comments through this virtual open house.

Construction on the highly anticipated I-17 Improvement Project: Anthem Way to Sunset Point will begin later this year and is expected to take approximately three years to complete. Pre-construction work is currently underway. Once the major work officially begins, drivers can expect the entire 23 miles to be under construction at once and should plan their trips accordingly.

Once complete, this project will help alleviate congestion and improve safety and traffic flow north of the metro Phoenix region. The 23 miles of improvements include 15 miles of roadway widening from Anthem Way to Black Canyon City, two bridge replacements, one bridge deck replacement, 10 bridge widenings, and the installation of an approximately eight-mile flex lane system from Black Canyon City to Sunset Point. Flex lanes are a new feature for Arizona’s highway system and are proven technology to help reduce congestion on I-17 during peak travel times and allow for traffic movement during emergency situations.

The I-17 flex lanes will operate as a separate, two-lane roadway carrying one direction of traffic at a time depending on the greatest need along the steep, winding 8 miles between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point. For example, the flex lanes will be able to carry heavy northbound traffic on a Friday or heavy southbound traffic on a Sunday. Similarly, ADOT will be able to open the flex lanes to accommodate traffic any time if a crash or other incident causes long delays. The flex lanes will be next to, but physically separated from southbound I-17 using concrete barriers. Access to the flex-lane entrances will be controlled by gates.  

For more information about the I-17 public meetings or this project, visit http://www.improvingi17.com/, call 877.476.1717 or email [email protected].

The Arizona Department of Transportation has signed an agreement with the developer team that will design, build, operate and maintain the Interstate 17 Improvement Project from Anthem Way to Sunset Point. 

The total project cost is $445,940,000, which includes the construction cost by the developer team, along with ADOT’s cost to administer the project. 

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2022 and is expected to take approximately three years. Now that the contract is signed, work can begin on this highly anticipated project that will include 15 miles of widening from Anthem Way to Black Canyon City and eight miles of flex lanes from Black Canyon City to Sunset Point.

The developer team is Kiewit-Fann Joint Venture. Key members of the team include Kiewit Infrastructure West Co.; Fann Contracting Inc.; Kiewit Engineering Group Inc.; DBI Services LLC; CONSOR Engineers LLC dba Apex Design; T.Y. Lin International; Lee Engineering; Terracon Consultants Inc.; Wheat Design Group, Inc.; Y2K Engineering; and Pinyon Environmental Inc.

The KFJV developer team was selected over two other finalists after an extensive review by ADOT with oversight from representatives from the Federal Highway Administration and the Maricopa Association of Governments. All three developer team finalists were encouraged to use innovation and develop alternative concepts to reduce project time and impacts to the traveling public and community while construction is underway.

Interstate 17 between Anthem Way and Sunset Point is a major stretch of highway that sees more than one million travelers every year. Because much of that travel and congestion occur on weekends, ADOT and the KFJV developer team will limit most of the lane closures to weeknights from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. All motorists still need to be cautious and alert in the construction zone, which will be active seven days a week. 

Once complete, the I-17 Improvement Project will help alleviate congestion and improve safety and traffic flow north of the metro-Phoenix region. This project will improve 23 miles of I-17, including 15 miles of roadway widening, two bridge replacements, one bridge deck replacement, 10 bridge widenings, and the installation of an eight-mile flex lane system—a new feature  for Arizona’s highway system. Flex lanes are proven technology to help reduce congestion on I-17 during peak travel times and allow for traffic movement during emergency situations. 

The I-17 flex lanes will operate as a separate, two-lane roadway carrying one direction of traffic at a time depending on the greatest need along the steep, winding eight miles between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point. For example, the flex lanes will be able to carry heavy northbound traffic on a Friday or heavy southbound traffic on a Sunday. Similarly, ADOT will be able to open the flex lanes to accommodate traffic any time if a crash or other incident causes long delays. The flex lanes will be next to, but physically separated from southbound I-17 using concrete barriers. Access to the flex-lane entrances will be controlled by gates.   

In February, Governor Ducey announced $40 million in funding for the I-17 Improvement Project from higher-than-anticipated revenue amid Arizona’s strong economic recovery and federal COVID-relief funds. Additional project funding sources include:

$130 million of state highway funds appropriated by the state legislature in 2019

$90 million from an Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant

$50 million programmed by the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) for the Maricopa County portion of this project

$135.9 million from federal aid with matching state highway funds. That includes $83.6 million approved by the Arizona State Transportation Board on Oct. 15, clearing the way for construction to begin in 2022.