Phoenix Area Loops

[mapman1071]

Another Phoenix area freeway is open, albeit a small stretch:

http://azdot.gov/media/News/news-release/2014/05/05/state-route-24-freeway-connection-opens-in-mesa

Although not a state highway, the first few miles of the Northern Parkway in the west valley have been open for a few months. When a couple of overpasses are built, it is built to freeway standards, whether it's labeled that way or not.

Northern Parkway is a Maricopa County Funded, Constructed & Maintained Parkway. The parkway will be constructed as 4 lane Freeway from Loop 303 to El Mirage Road and 4 lane divided parkway with signalized intersections from  El Mirage Road to US 60 - Grand Avenue/67th Avenue, with future plans to upgrade parkway to freeway and 4 to 6 lanes.

[andy3175]

Loop 303 carves new West Valley identity (from AZ Republic)
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/glendale/2014/05/09/loop-carves-new-west-valley-identity/8925485/

As envisioned, the $1.8 billion Loop 303 will turn fields into shopping centers, manufacturing hubs, office parks and enough houses to shelter more than 1 million new residents. It is the first new Valley freeway in more than a decade, an arc of a road that connects Interstate 17 to Interstate 10 and forms what advocates like to call "the spine" of the emerging West Valley.

With workers starting on one of the last interchanges this summer and the mammoth I-10 connection set to open in the fall, the freeway is almost ready to prove its promise.

Of all the projects proposed to keep Valley drivers moving over the past 30 years, Loop 303 was the most tenuous, the one most easily dispensed. "This was the stepchild of the whole system," former Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs said.

Yet, to the West Valley it meant life. Scruggs stood in her kitchen one morning in 1994 when the phone rang. Gov. Fife Symington's chief of staff had a terse message: The governor was eliminating plans for Loop 303 and other West Valley projects.

Ronald Reagan was starting his second presidential term in 1985 when MAG demographers conceived Loop 303. It formed the outer edge of a new Valley freeway system, along with Loop 101, a Grand Avenue expressway and the Paradise Parkway, an east-west connector just north of Camelback Road that would link State Route 51 in Phoenix to Loop 101 in Glendale.

Loop 303 progress:

- 1985: Maricopa County voters approve the "Northwest Loop" freeway as part of Proposition 300, which imposed a half-cent sales tax.

- 1988: The State Transportation Board approves building Loop 303 from I-10 to Grand Avenue. The board approves the section running from I-17 to Grand the next year.

- 1991: The initial two-lane section of Loop 303 between Cactus Road and Grand Avenue opens.

- 1994: Gov. Fife Symington and ADOT remove Loop 303 from the funded portion of the Regional Transportation Plan because of revenue shortfall and the failure of Proposition 400, which would have extended the sales tax.

- 1995: Maricopa County volunteers to become "caretaker" of the freeway.

- 2004: Maricopa County voters approve an updated Proposition 400, extending the half-cent sales tax. ADOT agrees to take over the freeway.

- 2009: ADOT breaks ground on sections of Loop 303 from I-17 to Happy Valley Road.

- 2011: Work begins on Loop 303 between Peoria Avenue and Mountain View Boulevard, just south of Grand Avenue. The freeway segment from I-17 to Happy Valley Road opens to traffic. Work begins on the I-10 interchange.

- 2013: Workers finish the six-lane portion between Peoria and Mountain View Boulevard.

- 2014: ADOT expects to break ground this summer on a project to widen Loop 303 into a six-lane freeway between Grand Avenue and Happy Valley Parkway.

- 2015: ADOT expects to add an interchange at Loop 303 and El Mirage Road and to improve the interchange at Grand Avenue and Loop 303.

- 2016: Work should be complete on the segments between Grand and Happy Valley and the El Mirage and Grand interchanges.

[swbrotha100]

Loop 303 carves new West Valley identity (from AZ Republic)
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/glendale/2014/05/09/loop-carves-new-west-valley-identity/8925485/

As envisioned, the $1.8 billion Loop 303 will turn fields into shopping centers, manufacturing hubs, office parks and enough houses to shelter more than 1 million new residents. It is the first new Valley freeway in more than a decade, an arc of a road that connects Interstate 17 to Interstate 10 and forms what advocates like to call "the spine" of the emerging West Valley.

With workers starting on one of the last interchanges this summer and the mammoth I-10 connection set to open in the fall, the freeway is almost ready to prove its promise.

Of all the projects proposed to keep Valley drivers moving over the past 30 years, Loop 303 was the most tenuous, the one most easily dispensed. "This was the stepchild of the whole system," former Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs said.

Yet, to the West Valley it meant life. Scruggs stood in her kitchen one morning in 1994 when the phone rang. Gov. Fife Symington's chief of staff had a terse message: The governor was eliminating plans for Loop 303 and other West Valley projects.

Ronald Reagan was starting his second presidential term in 1985 when MAG demographers conceived Loop 303. It formed the outer edge of a new Valley freeway system, along with Loop 101, a Grand Avenue expressway and the Paradise Parkway, an east-west connector just north of Camelback Road that would link State Route 51 in Phoenix to Loop 101 in Glendale.

Loop 303 progress:

- 1985: Maricopa County voters approve the "Northwest Loop" freeway as part of Proposition 300, which imposed a half-cent sales tax.

- 1988: The State Transportation Board approves building Loop 303 from I-10 to Grand Avenue. The board approves the section running from I-17 to Grand the next year.

- 1991: The initial two-lane section of Loop 303 between Cactus Road and Grand Avenue opens.

- 1994: Gov. Fife Symington and ADOT remove Loop 303 from the funded portion of the Regional Transportation Plan because of revenue shortfall and the failure of Proposition 400, which would have extended the sales tax.

- 1995: Maricopa County volunteers to become "caretaker" of the freeway.

- 2004: Maricopa County voters approve an updated Proposition 400, extending the half-cent sales tax. ADOT agrees to take over the freeway.

- 2009: ADOT breaks ground on sections of Loop 303 from I-17 to Happy Valley Road.

- 2011: Work begins on Loop 303 between Peoria Avenue and Mountain View Boulevard, just south of Grand Avenue. The freeway segment from I-17 to Happy Valley Road opens to traffic. Work begins on the I-10 interchange.

- 2013: Workers finish the six-lane portion between Peoria and Mountain View Boulevard.

- 2014: ADOT expects to break ground this summer on a project to widen Loop 303 into a six-lane freeway between Grand Avenue and Happy Valley Parkway.

- 2015: ADOT expects to add an interchange at Loop 303 and El Mirage Road and to improve the interchange at Grand Avenue and Loop 303.

- 2016: Work should be complete on the segments between Grand and Happy Valley and the El Mirage and Grand interchanges.

The one thing I like about Loop 303 is landowners having the foresight to protect the corridor in the event a freeway actually got built. Wish the city of Phoenix had done something similar with Pecos Road and a possible future Loop 202 alignment. Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if Loop 303 is a full freeway in the next couple months. The Loop 303/I-10 interchange may not be finished till the end of the year or early next year.

[swbrotha100]

As of this post, Loop 303 is a full freeway between Thomas Rd and just south of Grand Ave (US 60). Most of the section south of Northern Parkway only has one lane going in each direction. The section south of Thomas Rd is still closed, but it has been paved and striped up to where the ramps to/from I-10 would connect.

[Sonic99]

Another Phoenix area freeway is open, albeit a small stretch:

http://azdot.gov/media/News/news-release/2014/05/05/state-route-24-freeway-connection-opens-in-mesa

Although not a state highway, the first few miles of the Northern Parkway in the west valley have been open for a few months. When a couple of overpasses are built, it is built to freeway standards, whether it's labeled that way or not.

Northern Parkway is a Maricopa County Funded, Constructed & Maintained Parkway. The parkway will be constructed as 4 lane Freeway from Loop 303 to El Mirage Road and 4 lane divided parkway with signalized intersections from  El Mirage Road to US 60 - Grand Avenue/67th Avenue, with future plans to upgrade parkway to freeway and 4 to 6 lanes.

Northern Parkway is the far-west version of what the Paradise Parkway should have been. The one thing the freeway system in the Valley is lacking is a good East/West freeway across the middle of the metro area. Paradise Parkway would have been perfect but it ended up getting scrapped. The challenges were very understandable given the amount of land the thing would have taken up, but man, that is really the biggest "missing piece" to the Valley's freeway system.

[Stephane Dumas]

There'll be a ceremony planned for August 16 for the grand opening celebration of Loop 303
http://www.azdot.gov/docs/default-source/projects/loop303-n-i-10-grand-opening-invitation.pdf?sfvrsn=2

[swbrotha100]

If you go on ADOT's website or Flickr page, there are photos of various Loop 303 scenes between US 60/ Grand Ave and I-10

[swbrotha100]

Two of the ramps were open as of Monday morning. EB I-10 to NB Loop 303 and SB Loop 303 to EB I-10.

[Pink Jazz]

Just for fun, if I would convert the Phoenix area freeways into Interstates, here is how I would do it:

• Loop 101 - Interstate 210
• Loop 202 - Interstate 410
• Loop 303 - Interstate 217
• SR 51 - Interstate 510
• SR 143 - Interstate 110
• US 60 - Interstate 317 (begins at east I-10 and I-17/US 60 interchange, concurrent with US 60 and I-10 to Superstition Freeway, then concurrent with US 60 via Superstition Freeway, ending in Apache Junction)

[Sonic99]

Two of the ramps were open as of Monday morning. EB I-10 to NB Loop 303 and SB Loop 303 to EB I-10.

So basically the two big flyover ramps. Still looks like a ton of work to do around that interchange before it can be called "finished". I will say, I'm very happy to see they built basically "ghost ramps" for the future 303 south of I-10 to minimize impact on the other roads and ramps when the time comes. Just out of curiosity, what kind of timeline is that at? The 303 south of the 10?

[Concrete Bob]

http://www.azdot.gov/projects/phoenix-metro-area/loop-303-from-i-10-to-sr-30/timeline

From I-10 south to Van Buren, construction will start in 2016 and conclude in 2017.  From Van Buren south to the Rio Salado Freeway (aka I-10 reliever/ AZ 30 ), construction will start in 2023 and end in 2024. 

Those ghost ramps to the south of I-10 are not being built in vain !!

And construction will eventually go south of AZ 30 towards the I-11 Hassayampa Freeway after that.  I think that's a good 20 years off.  ADOT's website should have more information on that. 

[hm insulators]

Just for fun, if I would convert the Phoenix area freeways into Interstates, here is how I would do it:

• Loop 101 - Interstate 210
• Loop 202 - Interstate 410
• Loop 303 - Interstate 217
• SR 51 - Interstate 510
• SR 143 - Interstate 110
• US 60 - Interstate 317 (begins at east I-10 and I-17/US 60 interchange, concurrent with US 60 and I-10 to Superstition Freeway, then concurrent with US 60 via Superstition Freeway, ending in Apache Junction)

I've joked that "If I were elected Governor, I will build the Loop 404, 505, 606, 707, 808 and 909 Freeways." 

By the way, Pink Jazz, welcome to aaroads from a fellow road fan here in Phoenix near 7th Street and Glendale.

[swbrotha100]

It looks like just in time for Labor Day, the SB Loop 303 to WB I-10 and WB I-10 to NB Loop 303 ramps are open.

[Sonic99]

Is that the final piece for the 303 for this phase?  Or is there still construction at other parts? Freeway all the way from 17 to 10?

[swbrotha100]

All that's left around the 10/303 interchange is frontage roads and a new Cotton Lane connection. Sometime in 2016 ADOT will start construction to extend Loop 303 south to at least Van Buren St.

The next major Loop 303 project is between US 60/Grand Ave and Happy Valley Pkwy. That should be starting soon.

[frozen]

All that's left around the 10/303 interchange is frontage roads and a new Cotton Lane connection. Sometime in 2016 ADOT will start construction to extend Loop 303 south to at least Van Buren St.

The next major Loop 303 project is between US 60/Grand Ave and Happy Valley Pkwy. That should be starting soon.

They have already started construction on temporary crossovers west and east of El Mirage Road on the 303.

[Stephane Dumas]

All the 4 ramps of Loop-303/I-10 interchange are open.

[swbrotha100]

The stretch of Loop 303 from Happy Valley to US 60 is now just one lane in each direction for construction.

[Sonic99]

Prepping for the El Mirage interchange?

The stretch of Loop 303 from Happy Valley to US 60 is now just one lane in each direction for construction.

[Pink Jazz]

I was on the Loop 101 Agua Fria Freeway last Saturday, and I have noticed that all of the ramp meters have been covered up.  I wonder what is the reason.  Google doesn't tell me anything.

BTW, I wonder why Loop 202 does not have the ramp meters.  I-10, I-17, Loop 101, SR 51, and US 60 all have them, so why would Loop 202 be the only exception (not counting Loop 303, which isn't a complete freeway yet)?

[swbrotha100]

Most of the ramp meters on Loop 101 Agua Fria were recently installed, so they have never been on before. If you go to the ADOT website, they're doing stuff for the freeway management system.

Loop 202 Red Mountain has ramp meters between the Ministack and Loop 101

[hm insulators]

Prepping for the El Mirage interchange?

The stretch of Loop 303 from Happy Valley to US 60 is now just one lane in each direction for construction.

Most likely. My mother lives in Sun City West in a subdivision next to Loop 303, and when I leave her house, I use Deer Valley Road to the new little side street connecting it with the new stretch of El Mirage. I turn left on El Mirage and go all the way to where it ends, then turn right onto the 303 and get off at the first exit which I think is Happy Valley Road. I know the stretch of the 303 between El Mirage and Happy Valley is one lane in each direction, with no Jersey barrier down the middle of the road.


I guess they're waiting for somebody to be killed in a head-on collision.

[blanketcomputer]

It seems that the Loop freeways in Phoenix are going to have a lot of work over the next few years. Loop 101 (Pima) is gaining a general lane in both directions from Loop 202 (Red Mountain) to Shea Blvd. Work is starting this weekend on Loop 202 (Red Mountain) to add a general purpose lane from the Loop 101 (Pima/Price) interchange to Gilbert Rd, and an HOV lane in both directions from the current HOV lane terminus at Gilbert Rd to Broadway Rd. With the Loop 202 (South Mountain) final environmental impact statement currently up for public review, it seems likely that the South Mountain Freeway will finally begin construction next year. ADOT is in the process of acquiring homes along Pecos Rd to make way for the Loop 202. Loop 303 is completed north of I-10 to Bell Rd and work is beginning to widen the portion from Bell Rd to Happy Valley Pkwy to full freeway standards.

Lots of construction ahead.

[swbrotha100]

It seems that ADOT is looking to avoid all the long waiting to start freeway construction, or widening projects. They are getting started almost as soon as funding allows it.

[Pink Jazz]

With the Loop 202 Red Mountain widening project in Mesa, I wonder if ramp meters will be added to that section.  Much of Loop 202 doesn't have ramp meters installed except for the Phoenix and Tempe portions of the Red Mountain Freeway as stated earlier.