Phoenix drivers, brace yourselves for a hefty dose of weekend gridlock. The Arizona Department of Transportation has announced several major closures and lane restrictions across the Phoenix-area freeways beginning May 10. The routine infrastructure tango entails pavement improvements and lane marking work, with the department urging motorists to consider alternate routes or allow additional travel time. According to ADOT, southbound Interstate 17 will be completely closed from State Route 74 to Loop 303 in the northern reaches of Phoenix from 10 p.m. Friday until the early birds chirp on Monday, 5 a.m., to be precise.
The closure also ropes in the, southbound I-17 on-ramps at Daisy Mountain Drive and Pioneer Road. No vehicles will trudge these parts of the asphalt as road warriors are nudged towards a detour that involves exiting southbound I-17 to westbound SR 74, and then steering through southbound Lake Pleasant Parkway to reconnect with eastbound Loop 303. It’s a necessary evil, one might say, for the sake of smoother rides in the future.
Nobody's favorite, the northbound Loop 101 (Price Freeway) won't be taking any bows either – it's slated for shutdown between US 60 (Superstition Freeway) and Broadway Road from 9 p.m. Friday to the break of dawn on Monday, as reported by ADOT. Pavement improvement work is the culprit once again. Drivers typically swooping through this stretch will have to bide their time on detours via the northbound Price frontage road, northbound Dobson Road or McClintock Drive, as mainstay entrances from US 60 and several on-ramps are blocked off.
Crawling eastbound traffic on US 60 (Superstition Freeway) will also come to a halt for lane marking work. The segment from Loop 202 (SuperRedTan Interchange) to Crismon Road in Mesa will see no movement from 9 p.m. Friday to the early morning hours of Monday. Even eastbound US 60's on-ramps at Power and Ellsworth roads are hitting the brakes. "Detour: Eastbound US 60 drivers can consider exiting ahead of the closure and using local routes, including eastbound Baseline Road or Southern Avenue, to travel beyond the closure," as relayed by the official ADOT statement.
The I-10 refuses to be left out. Eastbound lanes will shrink to a trio between 40th Street and US 60 (Superstition Freeway) from Friday night at 10 through to 2 p.m. its ramp to eastbound US 60 will be a no-go. And lest we forget, the eastbound I-10 off-ramp at Baseline Road is on a two-month hiatus starting at 10 p.m. Friday (May 10). Motorists, think ahead – maybe Elliot Road and detour signs will be your new best friends.
Weather and unforeseen acts of the universe notwithstanding, schedules are written in the skies and subject to change. ADOT pledges real-time updates on the highways' whims and fancies at their Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov or via their mobile app. Tis' but a small tax for Maricopa County voters' pursuit of seamless travels, funded in part by Proposition 400, and the endless quest for untroubled commutes in the sunbaked Valley.
