Motorists traversing the southeast Valley will need to seek alternative routes starting tomorrow night as the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has announced a significant ramp closure. The westbound Loop 202 (Santan Freeway) off-ramp at Cooper Road will be shut down from 11:30 p.m. tomorrow for about 60 days, part of the Loop 202 widening project that's been ongoing in Chandler and Gilbert, as reported by ADOT.
ADOT suggests that drivers use westbound Loop 202 off-ramps at McQueen or Gilbert roads during the closure. Even though this detour might disrupt the daily commute for many, the anticipated improvements to traffic flow and safety in the future should balance these short-term inconveniences. This widening effort aims to add lanes and modernize interchanges along an 8-mile stretch of the freeway, touching on areas between Loop 101 (Price Freeway) and Val Vista Drive, efforts that are also detailed in the latest episode of the On the Road with ADOT podcast accessible via Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
The ambitious Loop 202 Improvement Project, with a budget of $200 million, will be instrumental in alleviating traffic jams by adding two travel lanes in each direction between Loop 101 and Gilbert Road, along with one lane in each direction from Gilbert Road to Val Vista Drive. In addition, bridges are being widened, and on- and off-ramps rebuilt, amplifying both the capacity and resilience of this key infrastructure.
Funding for the project flows from Proposition 400, which Maricopa County voters approved in 2004, authorizing a half-cent sales tax dedicated to infrastructural improvements. As the project falls under the larger Regional Transportation Plan, the Maricopa Association of Governments, the metropolitan planning organization for the Greater Phoenix area, oversees the strategic deployment of resources to enhance the region’s transportation landscape.
