New Loop 303 interchange will aim to help Surprise traffic
ADOT opts for 155th Avenue spot for access to highway years from now
Courtesy ADOT
A map shows the four areas along Loop 303 that were studied for a new interchange. The Arizona Department of Transportation ultimately picked the 155th Avenue alignment.
Courtesy ADOT
The Loop 303 interchange with Grand Avenue is in need of multi-million dollars' worth of work.
The next step in alleviating traffic on a busy stretch of U.S. 60 (Grand Avenue) in northwest Surprise is starting to take shape despite being years away from making a difference.
The Arizona Department of Transportation announced this week that 155th Avenue has been chosen as the location for a new traffic interchange on Loop 303 between U.S. 60 and El Mirage Road with final design expected to begin in early 2026 and construction planned to start in late 2028.
The 155th Avenue alignment was picked among four potential alternatives that ADOT studied this year to help fix problems around the 303, U.S. 60 and 163rd Avenue areas.
The other possibilities were at 151st and 147 avenues or Litchfield Road.
Surprise Transportation Department Director Eric Boyles said the new interchange will give Surprise residents another access point to Loop 303 that is much closer than the interchange at Happy Valley Road, about six miles away.
“Another (benefit) will be that the new interchange will pull traffic from the intersection of 163rd Avenue and U.S. 60 and improve the operation of that intersection,” Boyles said.
Funding for the interchange will come from voter-approved Proposition 479 money, although officials said it is too early to tell how much it will all cost in total.
Based on the Maricopa Association of Governments’ 2050 traffic and population projections, an interchange at 155th Avenue would reduce Grand traffic by 33% at 163rd Avenue and by 18% at Loop 303.
Traffic along U.S. 60 between the 303 and 163rd Avenue has frustrated residents in the Asante and Desert Oasis areas of northwest Surprise for years because 163rd Avenue has been the primary way in and out of the area, causing long delays.
MAG officials said in the last 15 years, the population north of Grand at 163rd Avenue has grown from 4,600 to 47,600. By 2050, the population could skyrocket to 242,600 people in current projections.
As for traffic, 41,000 vehicles per day use Grand between 163rd Avenue and Loop 303 now, but by 2050 that number could rise to 147,000 per day, ADOT officials said.
To help speed up a solution in the last year, Surprise worked closely with ADOT, MAG, the city of Peoria and other regional partners to pour over resident feedback that helped select the new interchange location.
“From the city’s perspective, the proximity of the new interchange to 163rd Avenue will allow the new interchange to pull the most traffic away from the 163rd Avenue and U.S. 60 intersection, thus improving the operation of that intersection,” Boyles said.
Boyles also said the interchange could possibly lighten the U.S. 60 corridor from the 303/60 traffic interchange to 163rd Avenue.
ADOT’s study found the new interchange would address “growing traffic volumes in the area and alleviate congestion” at the existing U.S. 60 interchanges that experience problematic traffic.
The interchange project will include northbound Loop 303 on- and off-ramps crossing over the freeway to reach a signalized intersection with 155th Avenue. Planners will also construct a bridge over the McMicken Dam Outlet Channel to connect the new interchange with 155th Avenue north of Loop 303.
New traffic signals, lighting and signage are also in the works.
Surprise will be keeping a close eye on the area since infrastructure improvements typically draw commercial and residential developments.
“As with any new access points to our state highway facilities, there is the possibility that new development opportunities are created,” Boyles said.
ADOT’s Final Project Assessment is available at azdot.gov/Loop303TIAlternatives.
Jason Stone can be reached at jstone@iniusa.org. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Jason Jason Stone joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2019, after a distinguished three decade media career that included stops at the Arizona Republic, iHeart Media/Clear Channel and Beckett Sports Card magazine. He remembers when airports sold newspapers.
Community: He is a big supporter of the Valley's original sports team: The Phoenix Suns.
Education: Northern Arizona University with a BS in broadcast journalism and a minor in sports coaching.
Random Fact: The capital of Nebraska is Lincoln.
Hobbies: Surfing, backgammon and men who aren't afraid to cry.
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