Loop 101-I-17 ramps close Nov. 13-16

Several ramps connecting Loop 101 and Interstate 17 will close for the weekend beginning Friday night, disrupting one of the Northwest Valley’s main freeway connections.

The Arizona Department of Transportation says the westbound Loop 101 ramps to both northbound and southbound I-17 will close from 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, until 5 a.m. Monday, Nov. 16. The eastbound Loop 101 ramp to northbound I-17 will close during the same period.

Northbound I-17 also will narrow to two lanes between Loop 101 and Pinnacle Peak Road. Drivers should allow extra time and check AZ511 before leaving because construction schedules can change.

Loop 101 and I-17 closure schedule

• Westbound Loop 101 to northbound I-17: Closed from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.
• Westbound Loop 101 to southbound I-17: Closed from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.
• Eastbound Loop 101 to northbound I-17: Closed from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.
• Northbound I-17: Reduced to two lanes from Loop 101 to Pinnacle Peak Road during the weekend work.
• Deer Valley Road at northbound I-17: On- and off-ramps closed.
• Pinnacle Peak Road at northbound I-17: Off-ramp closed.

The eastbound Loop 101 ramp to northbound I-17 is already reduced to one lane and is scheduled to remain narrowed through 5 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, according to ADOT’s current project schedule.

ADOT has not listed a single designated detour for the three interchange ramp closures. The affected connections serve drivers traveling from Glendale and Peoria toward north Phoenix, as well as traffic moving from the Agua Fria Freeway to southbound I-17.

Thomas Road also closes at Loop 101 Friday night

A separate restriction will close Thomas Road in both directions at Loop 101 from 9 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 14. ADOT recommends McDowell or Indian School roads as alternate east-west routes. The northbound and southbound Loop 101 ramps at Thomas Road will remain open.

Other continuing restrictions include a right-lane closure on eastbound Beardsley Road between 71st and 75th avenues through Dec. 17 and a one-lane configuration on the eastbound Loop 101 frontage road between 37th and 35th avenues through early 2027.

Work is part of $140 million widening project

The weekend closures are part of ADOT’s $140 million project to widen Loop 101 between 75th Avenue and I-17. The work is adding one general-purpose lane in each direction and widening bridges at 51st, 35th and 31st avenues.

The project also includes a larger westbound Loop 101 connection to northbound I-17 and a new northbound I-17 lane between Loop 101 and Pinnacle Peak Road. Crews are modifying frontage roads and ramps, upgrading drainage and lighting, and resurfacing the freeway.

Construction began in September 2024. ADOT currently lists completion in early summer 2027. A fourth westbound lane between 51st and 75th avenues opened in August, but interchange and eastbound work continue.

The project is funded through Proposition 400, the Maricopa County transportation sales tax voters approved in 2004.

Featured image: Archival view of Loop 101 at Interstate 17 in north Phoenix, photographed Sept. 11, 2010, by Alan Stark. The image does not depict the current construction work. Source: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Image resized for publication.