PHOENIX – Southbound Interstate 17 is scheduled to be closed near Loop 303 in north Phoenix this weekend for pavement and bridge improvements.

The freeway will be inaccessible between Loop 303 and Happy Valley Road from 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, to 5 a.m. Monday, Feb. 17, Arizona Department of Transportation officials said. Southbound I-17 on-ramps at SR 74/Carefree Highway and Dove Valley Road also will be closed. 

Southbound I-17 traffic will detour on westbound Loop 303 to southbound Lake Pleasant Parkway and eastbound Happy Valley Road. 

“To limit delays for you and others, use the primary detour, even if a navigation app suggests another route,” an ADOT release stated. “Avoid using streets east of I-17 that are not designed to handle freeway traffic. Some street closures will be in place (local traffic only).”

The project to improve the pavement along I-17 between Happy Valley Road and State Route 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 current schedule calls for two additional weekend closures:

• Northbound I-17 will be closed between Happy Valley Road and Loop 303 from 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, to 5 a.m. Monday, Feb. 24.
• Southbound I-17 will be closed between SR 74/Carefree Highway and Loop 303 from 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28, to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3.

The closure schedule is subject to change due to inclement weather or other factors, according to ADOT.

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