I-17 near Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport back open after work completed early

PHOENIX — Interstate 17 near Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport is back open in both directions after weekend work was completed ahead of schedule, the Arizona Department of Transportation said Sunday.

The north and southbound portion of the freeway had been closed between the Interstate 10 split interchange and Seventh Avenue and between 19th Avenue and Seventh Street starting at 5 a.m. Saturday.

Scheduled to be closed until 5 a.m. Monday, ADOT announced the freeway had reopened just before 6 a.m. Sunday.

The closures were due to the reconstruction of the I-17 bridge over Central Avenue in downtown Phoenix, a $13.5 million project which reached the midway point this weekend.

Both directions were shut down in order to switch traffic from the northbound part of the bridge to the new southbound structure, according to ADOT, as crews prepare to demolish the old northbound part of the bridge next weekend.

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

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

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