Phoenix commuters, buckle up for another weekend of delays and detours as the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) rolls out its freeway improvement plans. From late Friday through the weekend, a series of roadworks will impact several major routes through the city, with closures and lane restrictions set to reroute the flow of traffic. Strap in for a quick rundown of what’s to happen on the tarmac, and remember to factor in some extra time for your journeys.
The Westbound Loop 202 (Santan Freeway) will be fully closed at Arizona Avenue in Chandler from 11:30 p.m. Friday to noon Sunday, ADOT announced. This closure is for bridge work connected to the freeway widening project. Affected on-ramps at Gilbert, Cooper, and McQueen roads will also be off limits. Traffic is advised to use alternate routes such as westbound Germann or Pecos roads to Alma School Road to duck the hassle. It's worth noting that the eastbound Loop 202 HOV lane will occasionally shut down between Alma School Road and Arizona Avenue.
Meanwhile, Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard will shrink down to one lane each way between Hayden Road and 90th Street on Saturday from the early hours of 4 a.m. to the late afternoon, making way for paving under the Loop 101 widening project. And come Sunday night, the same boulevard will close in both directions at Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) until 5 a.m. Monday for bridge work, as per ADOT's advisory. Vehicles will be redirected along the freeway’s frontage roads, and for good measure, the northbound Loop 101 on-ramp at Raintree Drive will also be closed overnight.
Peoria’s crossroads at US 60 (Grand Avenue) and 75th Avenue will be out of commission starting 9 p.m. Friday until Saturday morning, due to traffic-signal installations. The Olive Avenue overpass, however, will remain open to traffic. As an alternative, drivers can slide over to 71st or 83rd avenues to move north-south, and Peoria or Northern avenues for the east-west passage. Moreover, westbound US 60 (Grand Avenue) will tighten to a single lane between Loop 303 and Deer Valley Road in the Surprise area across the same stretch of time for pavement improvements.
All this infrastructural ballet comes funded in part by Proposition 400—Maricopa County's voter-approved dedicated sales tax since 2004—and recently augmented by Proposition 479, extending the tax to fuel future projects. ADOT reminds the motoring public that real-time highway conditions can be grasped via the AZ511 website, the az511 app, or by dialing up 511. Phoenix drivers, while the weekend may bring delays, it's these very disruptions that pave the path for a smoother, wider road ahead.
