Loop 101 widening project west of I-17 starts Friday night (Sept. 27)

Weekend eastbound closure scheduled between 75th and 51st avenues

PHOENIX - A project to widen a stretch of Loop 101 (Agua Fria Freeway) west of Interstate 17 in the northwest Valley will start Friday night, Sept. 27, with a weekend closure of the eastbound freeway, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Eastbound Loop 101 will be closed between 75th and 51st avenues from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, Sept. 30, for initial work to establish work zones and remove a top layer of worn asphalt pavement along the freeway. The northbound Loop 101 on-ramps at Bell Road and Union Hills Drive also will be closed.

Drivers should allow extra travel time and consider alternate routes while the eastbound Loop 101 closure is in place. Detours: Traffic exiting at 75th Avenue will detour along the eastbound Beardsley frontage road and enter Loop 101 at 51st Avenue. Drivers also can use eastbound Union Hills Drive to northbound 51st Avenue.

Overview:

• This $140 million project will add one lane in each direction along Loop 101 between 75th Avenue and Interstate 17.
• It will take two-and-half years.
• In addition to constructing new freeway lanes, crews will widen several bridges, add new freeway lighting, resurface the pavement, reconstruct on- and off-ramps and add capacity to the westbound Loop 101 ramp to northbound I-17.
• A third southbound left turn lane will be added to 75th Avenue for traffic entering the eastbound freeway.
• Freeway improvements will require work zone restrictions, weekend closures and other ramp or lane closures. ADOT provides free emailed updates to subscribers who sign up via azdot.gov(click on "subscribe for updates").

Future weekend closure: Westbound Loop 101 is scheduled to be closed between 51st and 75th avenues from 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, to 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 7. Both I-17 ramps to westbound Loop 101 will be closed. The westbound Loop 101 on-ramp at 35th Avenue will be closed.

The project team will make accommodations to maintain access to businesses and residences. For more project information, please visit azdot.gov/loop101-75th-I-17.

ADOT is managing the project in partnership with the cities of Phoenix, Glendale and Peoria as well as the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), which serves as the metropolitan planning organization for the greater Phoenix region. The project is scheduled under MAG's Regional Transportation Plan and is funded through Prop 400, which includes a countywide half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements approved by voters in 2004.