New Loop 303 Opening

[brad2971]

Last Saturday, ADOT opened a new part of Loop 303 west of I-17:

http://www.azdot.gov/Index_Docs/Headlines/index_051111.asp

ADOT, apparently, does a very good job of preparing for future expansion while building interim freeways. Quite impressive.

[NE2]

http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=33.7395&lon=-112.2391&zoom=13&layers=M
Those exit numbers look off... can anyone confirm them?

[Henry]

Last Saturday, ADOT opened a new part of Loop 303 west of I-17:

http://www.azdot.gov/Index_Docs/Headlines/index_051111.asp

ADOT, apparently, does a very good job of preparing for future expansion while building interim freeways. Quite impressive.

Yes, they're among the best in the business. Way to go! 

[Stephane Dumas]

It could be interesting to see how the future interchange with Grand Avenue/US-60 will look.

[brad2971]

It could be interesting to see how the future interchange with Grand Avenue/US-60 will look.

Since US60 is a surface street in that area, and the BNSF railroad is off to the side, the interchange will probably be a folded diamond. I seriously doubt ADOT wants to spend extra hundreds of millions to build a freeway-freeway interchange in that area, especially if it likely involves having to move US60 a fair distance south in order to properly accomodate the ramps.

[Stephane Dumas]

Since US60 is a surface street in that area, and the BNSF railroad is off to the side, the interchange will probably be a folded diamond. I seriously doubt ADOT wants to spend extra hundreds of millions to build a freeway-freeway interchange in that area, especially if it likely involves having to move US60 a fair distance south in order to properly accomodate the ramps.

Maybe the future folded diamond might receive a flyover ramp from Loop-30 north to US-60 west if that gap might be part of the Canamex corridor https://www.aaroads.com/high-priority/corr26.html unless they chose a more westernly corridor west of Loop 303 to link I-10 with US-60 and US-93.

[Alps]

When I was there a month ago, the two places I could see the freeway (from Happy Valley and Lake Pleasant) both looked ready to go except for striping. So no surprise that I've already no longer clinched 303. Impressively, the highway is already half on Google Maps.

[hm insulators]

My mother lives in Sun City West, not far from where Loop 303 meets US 60. I live in north-central Phoenix (near 7th Street and Bethany Home Road), and I would always go home by accessing Bell Road via Deer Valley and El Mirage Roads, turn left on Bell and drive about six miles to Loop 101. A left turn on Loop 101 would take me north for less than a mile before that freeway elbows to the east and eventually ties into I-17, then south on I-17 to Bethany Home. Total distance, about 31 or 32 miles, and just about exactly 45 minutes.

The last time I saw her this past Friday, I tried the brand-new Loop 303. I was hoping I could perhaps catch an exit at Jomax Road or some such before hitting I-17, but no such luck and I ended up using the new freeway all the way to the 17. (By the way, there is no direct freeway-to-freeway connection from eastbound 303 to southbound 17; there's a traffic light.) South on the 17 all the way to Bethany Home. Total distance, about 40 miles and 50 minutes.

But...I don't have to fight the no fewer than 13 (count 'em, 13 including the left turn from El Mirage onto Bell; you can run out of gas waiting for the green arrow) traffic signals on Bell Road!