Just in time for Thanksgiving, ADOT opens new I-17 lanes

PHOENIX – Just in time for the Thanksgiving weekend, drivers heading north on Interstate 17 had some new lanes to get through the north Valley.
 
The Arizona Department of Transportation opened two new lanes, including a carpool lane, from Jomax Road to just south of Carefree Highway, according to a news release.

ADOT also said crews working on Valley freeways will take the holiday weekend off. The restrictions will remain in place until Monday morning.
 
Check for road restrictions and drive times around the Valley

According to ADOT, the new five-mile northbound stretch of road represents the latest milestone for a $142 million project to add traffic capacity between Loop 101 and Carefree Highway.

Two northbound lanes, between Loop 101 and Jomax Road, opened on November 9 and two new southbound lanes between Happy Valley Road and Loop 101 opened on October 29, according to ADOT.

The last stretch of two new southbound lanes between Carefree Highway and Happy Valley Road is expected to open next month.

Sections that do not have a rubberized asphalt overlay yet will be paved next spring, when temperatures warm up enough to provide the conditions needed to properly add the quiet pavement, officials said.

The project is part of the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Regional Transportation Plan approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004, officials said.

A separate $11.2 million project to add a third lane in each direction along I-17 between Carefree Highway and Anthem Way is scheduled for completion by next spring. That project is among dozens of state highway projects being funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

For more information about ADOT’s freeway projects in the Phoenix area visit http://www.valleyfreeways.com/.