I-10 near downtown Phoenix closed for South Mountain Freeway construction
Feb 10, 2017, 4:52 AM | Updated: Feb 11, 2017, 12:23 pm
PHOENIX — If you were planning on using Interstate 10 in the Phoenix area this weekend, you might want to take an alternative route.
Westbound I-10 will be closed between 51st and 75th avenues from 10 p.m. on Friday until 5 a.m. on Monday, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
The freeway will also be closed eastbound between 75th and 51st avenues next week, from 10 p.m. on Feb. 17 to 5 a.m. on Feb. 20.
Transportation officials will shut down the roadway in order to prepare for construction of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway interchange at 59th Avenue.
Workers will use the time to widen the median so work can be safely completed in the future. Pavement for the expansion was first poured in December 2016, though officials say it will not be completed until late 2019.
The freeway will be an extension of the Loop 202, which will run 22 miles to connect the East Valley to the West Valley by the I-10. It will also widen the I-10 between 43rd and 75th avenues to add merge lanes in each direction and access roads between 51st to 67th avenues.
Since the project was first approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 — and again in 2004 — as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, it has stirred up controversy in the area.
In January, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an attempt made by the the Gila River Indian Community to stop construction of the freeway, the fifth of its kind.
Earlier that same month, the Pecos Road entrance at the park-and-ride at 40th Street and Pecos closed to make way for the expansion.
Other roadways and freeways will be closed or restricted during the weekend of Feb. 10 for various constructions or installations.
Eastbound Loop 202 and all I-10 ramps to the freeway reopened around noon on Saturday. They were scheduled to be closed until 7 p.m. for lane striping.
Eastbound I-10 will be closed from 48th Street to Broadway from 9 p.m. on Sunday to 5 a.m. on Monday for traffic-flow sensor installation.
Eastbound U.S. 60 from Gilbert Road to Val Vista Drive from 10 p.m. on Friday to 9 a.m. on Saturday and from Stapley Drive from 10 p.m. on Saturday to 9 a.m. on Sunday will also be closed for installation.
Northbound I-17 will be narrowed to one lane from 19th Avenue to Adams Street from 10 p.m. on Friday to 5 p.m. on Sunday for construction.
Westbound US 60 will be closed at the Loop 101 from 9 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday for bridge improvements.
