Construction is underway on a two-year rebuild of the Interstate 10 interchange at Jackrabbit Trail in Buckeye, beginning a project that will replace the freeway bridges, widen ramps and expand a key north-south road serving one of the West Valley’s fastest-growing areas.
The Arizona Department of Transportation began setting work zones at the interchange Aug. 29. The first phase extends along Jackrabbit Trail from south of McDowell Road to north of Roosevelt Street and is expected to continue for approximately two years, according to ADOT’s project page.
The work will remove and reconstruct the existing I-10 bridges over Jackrabbit Trail. Crews also will widen the interchange ramps for additional turn lanes, install traffic signals and expand Jackrabbit Trail to three lanes in each direction from south of McDowell Road to south of I-10.
Major closures will come later
Drivers should not expect the entire construction period to look like the first weeks of work. Buckeye says much of the initial activity will occur around the flood-control channel west of Jackrabbit Trail, limiting traffic impacts during the early stages.
As construction advances, however, ADOT expects full closures and lane restrictions on I-10, Jackrabbit Trail and the interchange ramps, primarily overnight and on weekends. The project schedule anticipates long-term ramp closures lasting approximately 45 days as well as a roughly 20-day closure of Jackrabbit Trail when bridge and interchange work reaches those stages.
ADOT said it will announce those restrictions in advance. The agency’s Aug. 26 construction announcement marked the transition from planning and design into active construction.
Jackrabbit Trail is becoming a larger north-south corridor
The interchange rebuild connects with a broader series of improvements along Jackrabbit Trail. Buckeye is separately widening the road north of the interchange, while a second phase of the ADOT-coordinated project is planned to continue the six-lane configuration south toward Van Buren Street.
Under the current plan, Phase 2 would widen Jackrabbit Trail to three lanes in each direction from south of I-10 to north of Van Buren Street. ADOT lists that phase as anticipated for 2028. The City of Buckeye’s project overview says Phase 2 is expected to follow completion of the first phase.
North of I-10, Buckeye also has a city project widening Jackrabbit Trail between McDowell and Thomas roads to three lanes in each direction and adding traffic signals at McDowell and Thomas. Together, the projects are intended to increase capacity on a corridor that carries traffic between I-10 and expanding residential and commercial areas north of the freeway.
The interchange project is part of the Maricopa Association of Governments regional freeway program and receives funding through the regional transportation sales tax approved by Maricopa County voters in 2024.
What happens next
The most immediate work is construction around the existing interchange and flood-control channel. Larger traffic impacts will arrive as crews move into bridge reconstruction, ramp work and widening directly along Jackrabbit Trail.
For Buckeye drivers, the important distinction is that construction has now started, but the finished interchange remains roughly two years away. Phase 2 south toward Van Buren Street is a later project currently anticipated to begin in 2028.
Featured image: Representative Buckeye-area landscape photographed from I-10 in October 2025. Photo by Toastdebunny via Wikimedia Commons, dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0. The image does not show the Jackrabbit Trail interchange or current construction.
