State transportation officials said drives should avoid a “recipe for longer delays” by staying off local streets as detours around this weekend’s northbound I-17 closure north of Loop 303.

A busy stretch of northbound Interstate 17 in north Phoenix is scheduled to be closed this weekend for pavement improvement work, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Drivers should allow extra travel time and stay on the designated detour route, which uses the frontage road, while northbound I-17 is closed between Loop 303 and State Route 74 from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

All traffic on eastbound Loop 303 will be directed to southbound I-17 to allow northbound detour traffic to freely flow through the intersection.

ADOT is advising drivers to not use local streets – including Sonoran Desert Drive and North Valley Parkway – as alternate routes, “which is a recipe for longer delays and inconvenience for all,” officials stated in a release.

“Using the frontage road, which offers two travel lanes, is safer for you and for those living nearby as well as being the most efficient route through the area.”

Law enforcement officers will work throughout the area to assist with local-only closures at neighborhood entrances, officials said.

ADOT also is taking steps to reduce the chances that navigation apps will direct drivers to local roads.

“Staying on the detour route regardless of what a navigation app may suggest is the best way to reduce delays for yourself and others,” the release stated.  

Crews this weekend will be removing a top layer of older, worn asphalt pavement before smooting the remaining concrete surface.

“Lengthy traffic backups are unavoidable during these closures, so drivers should plan ahead. Those with weekend plans to use northbound I-17 from Phoenix may want to consider avoiding delays by traveling before Friday night’s closure begins,” transportation officials said in the release.

Traffic on the northbound freeway also will be lighter during the early morning hours or later at night, they said.

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