Two eastbound freeway closures will block major West Valley routes from 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, until 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 26, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
Eastbound Loop 101 will close from 75th Avenue to 51st Avenue, while eastbound Loop 303 will close from 43rd Avenue to Interstate 17. The closures overlap for the full weekend and affect travel toward I-17 from Glendale, Peoria and north Phoenix.
ADOT published the weekend advisory on Oct. 22. Drivers should allow extra time and check AZ511 before leaving because schedules can change for weather or other factors.
Loop 101 closes between 75th and 51st avenues
The eastbound Loop 101 Agua Fria Freeway closure begins at 75th Avenue and ends at 51st Avenue. The eastbound on-ramps at Bell Road and Union Hills Drive also will close.
ADOT recommends using eastbound Union Hills Drive and returning to Loop 101 at 51st Avenue or 35th Avenue. Drivers traveling toward I-17 can expect added traffic on Union Hills and the north-south arterials serving those interchanges.
A separate restriction remains east of the weekend closure. The right lane on eastbound Loop 101 is closed from 35th Avenue to the 27th Avenue off-ramp and I-17 ramp through 5 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27. The eastbound frontage road also is reduced to one lane between 37th and 35th avenues through early 2027.
The widening project is moving east. ADOT’s current Loop 101 schedule lists another full eastbound closure from 51st Avenue to 27th Avenue for the following weekend, from 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, to 5 a.m. Monday, Nov. 2.
Loop 303 closes near I-17
Eastbound Loop 303 will close from 43rd Avenue to I-17 for bridge construction. ADOT’s primary detour sends drivers north on 43rd Avenue, east on Dove Valley Road and then to I-17. An alternate route follows Dove Valley Road to southbound North Valley Parkway and Sonoran Desert Drive.
Westbound Loop 303 will remain open but narrow to one lane from I-17 to 43rd Avenue during the same period.
The work is part of ADOT’s Loop 303 improvement project between Lake Pleasant Parkway and I-17, which is adding a third general-purpose lane in each direction and building direct freeway-to-freeway ramps at the Loop 303/I-17 system interchange. The broader project is tracked in the West Valley Post Loop 303 Development & Infrastructure Tracker.
Restrictions continue after the weekend. Eastbound Loop 303 is scheduled to close nightly from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Oct. 26 through the morning of Oct. 30, then close continuously again from 10 p.m. Oct. 30 to 5 a.m. Nov. 2. Westbound traffic will narrow to one lane during those closures, and the southbound I-17 on-ramp at Dixileta Drive will close during the Oct. 26-30 overnight work.
ADOT also has a 15-foot vehicle-height restriction on eastbound Loop 303 between 43rd Avenue and I-17 through early December. The work-zone speed limit is 55 mph.
What drivers should know
- Both eastbound closures: 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, to 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 26.
- Loop 101: Closed from 75th Avenue to 51st Avenue; Bell Road and Union Hills Drive on-ramps closed.
- Loop 303: Closed from 43rd Avenue to I-17; westbound traffic narrowed to one lane.
- Live conditions: Check AZ511 before traveling.
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