PHOENIX – A closure of southbound I-17 in north Phoenix this weekend has been postponed, state transportation officials announced Monday.

The work will be rescheduled as the Arizona Department of Transportation continues planning for a last series of closures needed for a pavement improvement project between Happy Valley Road and State Route 74/Carefree Highway. 

Approximately four I-17 weekend closures are anticipated over the next two months as crews work to finish the project that began late last spring, officials said.

The project to improve the pavement along I-17 has removed the worn top layer of asphalt pavement followed by the diamond grinding of the concrete pavement.

“The project has created a smoother, safer and longer-lasting surface along six miles of I-17,” officials state in a release.

Crews have recently focused on installing new deck joints at bridges along the freeway.