‘Use I-17’: ADOT urges drivers to avoid SR 51 as weekend closures begin

PHOENIX — A $17.8 million project to resurface State Route 51 between the Interstate 10 interchange and Shea Boulevard will require multiple weekend closures beginning this week, the Arizona Department of Transportation announced.

The first closure runs from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, shutting down southbound SR 51 between Cactus Road and Northern Avenue through the Dreamy Draw Recreation Area. On-ramps at Thunderbird, Greenway and Bell roads will close.

 

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“Crews will go southbound first over the course of about three weekends,” ADOT spokesman Doug Nintzel told KTAR News 92.3 FM. “And then in April, we’ll have northbound SR 51 closures.”

Nintzel urged drivers to avoid the area entirely.

“The farther you go away in using other routes, the more time you’ll save,” he said. “Think about using southbound I-17 this weekend as the freeway route to get you downtown and also to Sky Harbor Airport.”

Crews will remove the top layer of worn asphalt along the nearly 10-mile stretch, repair bridge decks and joints, and diamond grind the concrete pavement.

Diamond grinding uses specialized machines with diamond-tipped rollers to remove a thin layer of concrete while cutting small grooves into the surface.

“That helps with both drainage and also does help when it comes to reducing tire noise,” Nintzel said, adding that a diamond-ground surface lasts about 30 years.

The project is scheduled for completion this fall and is funded through 2024’s voter-approved Proposition 479.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s John Roller contributed this report.

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