Southbound Interstate 17 will be closed at Loop 303 from 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, to 5 a.m. Monday, Sept. 16 for pavement improvement work.

Traffic will take Loop 303 off- and on-ramps and then use one lane until Jomax Road, state transportation officials said.

To help keep traffic moving through the work zone, Loop 303/Sonoran Desert Drive will be closed under I-17, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Eastbound Loop 303 traffic can reach northbound I-17 by taking I-17 south to Happy Valley Road, and northbound I-17 drivers can reach westbound Loop 303 by taking Dove Valley Road west to southbound 43rd Avenue.

ADOT advises drivers to:

• Stay on the detour route regardless of what a navigation app may suggest. Avoid attempting to detour on local streets, which are not designed for large traffic volumes.
• Obey local-traffic-only closures at neighborhood entrances on a number of streets near I-17 to help keep detouring traffic off local roadways. Law enforcement officers will be stationed at intersections throughout the area to assist with traffic flow.

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.