I-17, Central Avenue bridge project in Phoenix to cause weekend closures

PHOENIX — The project to reconstruct the Interstate 17 bridge over Central Avenue in downtown Phoenix will reach the midway point this weekend, resulting in highway closures.

The closures are due to traffic being switched from the northbound part of the bridge to the new southbound structure, the Arizona Department of Transportation said in a press release Wednesday.

Northbound I-17 will be closed between the Interstate 10 “split” interchange near Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and Seventh Avenue from 5 a.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday.

Southbound I-17 will also be closed during the same time period between 19th Avenue and Seventh Street in addition to the I-10 ramps to southbound I-17 at the “stack” interchange near McDowell Road. On-ramps to southbound I-17 at McDowell Road and Grant Street will also be closed.

Traffic on I-17 has been temporarily sharing the northbound part of the bridge since crews began work in May to remove the old southbound half and replace it with a wider steel girder structure.

Crews will now prepare to demolish the old northbound half of the I-17 bridge, a project that is scheduled to take place next weekend and result in the closure of Central Avenue near I-17. Construction of the new northbound half of the bridge will then follow.

The new bridge will be wider to accommodate plans for additional lanes along I-17 when funding is available, according to the release, and allow more room for commercial trucks and Valley Metro’s future South Central Avenue light rail line.

The $13.5 million project, which replaces the bridge that opened in 1962, is scheduled to be complete by the fall.

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