PHOENIX — Arizona Department of Transportation crews are warning drivers about intermittent closures of I-17 in the northern part of the Valley due to road improvement projects. Closures are expected to continue for the next several months.
Last weekend, southbound I-17 was scheduled to be closed between SR 74/Carefree Highway and Loop 303, as well as on-ramps at Daisy Mountain Drive and Pioneer Road.
This weekend, May 17-20, northbound I-17 will be closed between Loop 303 and State Route 74 from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.
The closures are so crews can remove old asphalt before smoothing the surface. Crews on the I-17 project will initially remove a top layer of older, worn asphalt before smoothing the remaining concrete surface through a process called diamond grinding.
Future closure schedules and other plans for this project will be posted here.
However, due to that roadwork during the first weekend closure, people living in the area experienced neighborhood traffic issues and relayed their concerns to the roads department, prompting ADOT to make changes to traffic signals and bring in officers to reduce the backup.
ABC15 also received reports of drivers having vehicle troubles after being stuck in traffic for multiple hours.
ADOT told ABC15 in a statement after those issues:
"There is no good time to close a freeway, especially in this area of I-17 with few detour routes available. We understand the impact of such a closure and of this closure in particular. We have conducted extensive outreach to help drivers plan ahead. Concerns from drivers and area residents have been shared with the project team and ADOT's Central District, and they prompted changes today. The good news is this project is making much-needed improvements to the I-17 pavement surface.
Based on the number of drivers deciding to use routes other than the designated detour, resulting in community concerns, our contractor has added law enforcement officers and adjusted signal timing with a goal of reducing backups on the east side of I-17. ADOT had people drive the queue yesterday, and using the official detour route was a notably better option than getting off before SR 74 and using local roads. We are encouraging drivers to use the designated detour routes instead of local roads."
We talked to ADOT officials again this week about your concerns about emergency vehicle routes being blocked in the area. ADOT officials say emergency responders will be allowed to use the closed road in the event of an emergency.
Hear more from ADOT in the video player below:
The I-17 pavement work between SR 74 and Happy Valley Road is separate from the I-17 Improvement Project currently underway north of Anthem Way.
See more of ABC15's traffic coverage, including an interactive map of current road conditions, here. You can also check out our Operation Safe Roads reporting here.
