124 Photos from AZ loop 303

[pumpkineater2]

I drove up and down the whole length of Arizona's Loop 303 yesterday, to check out the final phase of a project to upgrade it to a freeway, and to photograph the completed sections as well. Enjoy!

Going northbound:

Just south of Thomas road, shortly after coming off the ramp from I-10 west


Pasing under Thomas road


Approaching Indian school road


Pasing over Indian school road





approaching Camelback road


Exit for Camelback road


Passing over Camelback


The extra lane on the right is for the Northern parkway exit


Wildlife World zoo In the backround


See cheetahs and sea lions now!


Exit for Northern ave. , approaching Northern Parkway


Northern parkway in the distance


Exit for northern Parkway


Ramp to Northern Parkway


approaching Waddell road


Passing over Waddell road


Loop 303 North marker


The rubberized asphalt ends here at Greenway road, along with the left lane


Grand ave. coming right up...


Cool design on the walls


What's that? Could it be?


No!


Nooooo!


Crossing the new bridge over US-60/Grand Ave. Notice the big sound wall on the right.


Between Grand & El mirage road, the freeway is mostly complete, as you can see here. The freeway has also lost its median





Large power lines to the north





Mile markers and signage is in place


Traffic is routed along the future northbound off/on ramp for El mirage road





Down the future off ramp


Temporary traffic signals


Up the future on ramp


Happy valley pkwy., vistancia blvd. 1 mile


Electrical substation


The freeway resumes here. Woohoo!


Exit for Happy valley pkwy., vistancia blvd. From here to I-17, loop 303 is four lanes.





Lone Mountain Pkwy. 1 1/2 miles.


Passing over Lone Mountain Pkwy.


Yes, you're STILL on loop 303





























Signage for Lake Pleasant Parkway



This bridge passes over the Agua Fria river which is connected to Lake Pleasant








Exit for Lake Pleasant Pkwy.


Passing under Lake Pleasant Pkwy





Watch for burros! They're literally everywhere, or so I hear.














Here there will be a future interchange with 67th ave. The roadway in this picture is actually the future on and off ramps.









Approaching I-17. The freeway ends soon and loop 303 continues to I-17 as Sonoran Desert drive.


Look! A VMS!


Freeway ends





Pick a lane


An underpass built in preparation for the ramp from loop 303 East to I-17 North, if the Full freeway to freeway interchange ever gets built.


Turn right for Phoenix, turn left for Flagstaff. Sonoran desert Dr. is being extended east of I-17 at the time this photo was taken.


I'm going to take a break for now, and I'll post the West/southbound pictures later.

[pumpkineater2]

Okay, here are the southbound photos.

Beginning of Sonoran Desert drive west








You're on loop 303 west- watch out for burros!


Freeway begins!





What a beautiful Arizona day and landscape


Traffic is very light on this portion of the 303. I'm sure there was at least a half a mile of space between traffic in front of and behind me- It's pretty nice having that much space all to yourself on a freeway.


Westbound exit for Lake Pleasant Parkway


Beautiful concrete ribbons...


Here there will be a future interchange with a street of which I don't know the name.


It appears that the future street is planned to cross the freeway on an overpass


About to cross the agua fria River again





Loop 303 turns to the south just west of the river


Freeway ends, 1 mile


Happy valley Pkwy exit- Road work ahead!


Back to two way traffic. The westbound carriageway sits empty for now.


Some fresh concrete has just been pored for the westbound carriageway, just west of El Mirage road


Construction vehicles and equipment





Enormous crane


Mileages for Grand ave. & Bell road


Currently, all access to US-60 is via what will eventually become a loop ramp from SB loop 303 to US-60


Water truck wetting the soil


approaching the end of the construction zone





Back to the freeway once again. sorry about the glare in these photos- I was driving south.


After emerging from the confines of soundwalls, you can easily see downtown Phoenix(though its almost impossible to see in this photo), about 23 miles away, as well as the University of Phoenix stadium.


Northern parkway- 1 mile


From one overpass to the next...


Ramp to eastbound Northern Pkwy


Northern Parkway is visible to the east


Passing over Northern ave.


Next three exits:


Passing over Bethany Home road


Approaching Indian School road and Interstate 10











loop 303 is planned to be constructed south of I-10 to Van Buren street, with construction starting in early 2016 and finishing sometime in 2017, and from there, it is planned to be constructed to the proposed SR-30 freeway, with construction anticipated to begin in 2023 and conclude in 2024. For now though, it ends at I-10.





Crews were busy with landscaping, at the time of this photo.


Charging up the ramp to I-10 eastbound


Descending down the same ramp


Interstate 10 eastbound

[swbrotha100]

Great pics! Can't wait to see the finished product between Grand and Happy Valley.

[ModernDayWarrior]

Very nice pics! It's sorta trippy seeing a totally empty freeway like that. And I really like the desert scenery.

[pumpkineater2]

Very nice pics! It's sorta trippy seeing a totally empty freeway like that. And I really like the desert scenery.

Yeah, it's odd that that section doesn't see more traffic, since it has been open since 2011. I would think that more people would know about it by now. But perhaps people don't realize that it's a quicker route to the west valley, because there are no control cities on the signs for loop 303 on I-17.

[hm insulators]

My mother lives not far from those giant power lines; last month I had the occasion to use the stretch between Happy Valley and El Mirage as I had eaten at a nearby restaurant recently featured on "Check Please! Arizona."

[SimMoonXP]

Good pictures! When will the Loop 303 segment to be complete for Grand Avenue (US-60)? Looks like road construction mess nearby that intersection!

[xcellntbuy]

Excellent photos!