Starting early Tuesday, July 23, drivers who frequent North Scottsdale are in for a bit of a detour. The northbound Loop 101 on-ramp at Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard is scheduled to temporarily close for reconstruction—throwing a wrench into the daily commute for approximately 60 days. This is part of the larger freeway widening effort that's been carving into the area's transit patterns since January.
For those looking to navigate this latest chapter, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) suggests using the northbound frontage road just north of Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard and entering the freeway at the Pima Road/Princess Drive interchange. They're also asking folks to maybe plan to leave a little earlier than usual, to reduce speed and to kindly provide space to merge while the project inches forward. "Drivers who normally would use the closed ramp can use the northbound frontage road north of Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard and enter northbound Loop 101 at the Pima Road/Princess Drive interchange," according to a statement from ADOT.
Meanwhile, the off-ramp at Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, which has been out of commission since late May, is slated to reopen at the end of this month. It's part of the dance of closures and reopenings that is the $108 million Loop 101 Improvement Project stretching from Shea Boulevard to Princess Drive/Pima Road. Entire on- and off-ramps are being methodically demolished and reconstructed to align with a wider, more spacious freeway, with an expected wrap-up date in early 2026.
The upgrades aren't just for aesthetics or an exercise in patience. When all is said and done, our 4.5-mile stretch of the Pima Freeway north of Shea Boulevard will boast an additional lane in each direction, a revamped Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard diamond interchange, and all the accoutrements of modern infrastructure such as new signs, updated traffic signals, and brighter lighting. "The project is adding one lane in each direction along 4.5 miles of the Pima Freeway north of Shea Boulevard," echoes details from the ADOT news release.
Funding for the Loop 101 widening comes, in part, from Proposition 400—a half-cent sales tax Maricopa County's voters had the foresight to pass back in 2004. It's all under the umbrella of the Regional Transportation Plan spearheaded by the Maricopa Association of Governments. For those affected by the changes and seeking real-time highway conditions, ADOT directs traffic to their Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov, or to use the az511 app, or simply call 511 for updates.
