PHOENIX – A stretch of southbound Interstate 17 between State Route 74/Carefree Highway and Loop 303 in north Phoenix will be closed this weekend as highway crews work to finish a pavement improvement project, Arizona transportation officials said.

It is the last scheduled weekend closure for the Arizona Department of Transportation’s I-17 project. Drivers should allow extra travel time and consider adjusting travel schedules to avoid delays while the following closure is in place:

• Southbound I-17 will be closed between SR 74 and Loop 303 from 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28, to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3.

Southbound I-17 on-ramps at SR 74 and Dove Valley Road will be closed. Drivers should use the detour route on westbound SR 74 and avoid streets east of I-17 that are not designed for freeway traffic, according to ADOT.  Detour: Southbound I-17 traffic will detour west on State Route 74 to southbound Lake Pleasant Parkway and use eastbound Loop 303 to return to I-17. 

The I-17 project between Happy Valley Road and SR 74 has removed the old, worn top layer of asphalt pavement, and the concrete pavement beneath it has undergone a treatment known as diamond grinding.

“The improvement work has created a safer, smoother and longer lasting surface along six miles of I-17 north of Happy Valley Road,” officials stated in a release.

 Recent work has focused on the replacement of steel bridge deck joints that span the width of the freeway. The project started in May.