PHOENIX — Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, Interstate 17 is opening up a third lane in both directions to help alleviate typical interstate traffic.
The third regular travel lane will open between Anthem Way and Black Canyon City on Thursday.
The lane expansion is part of the $522-million I-17 improvement project, that's been underway since 2022, aimed at helping traffic flow.
The project is overhauling the interstate between Anthem Way and Sunset Point. A key part is widening 15 miles of roadway, replacing two bridges, making 10 other bridges wider, and building eight miles of flex lanes.
The Arizona Department of Transportation explains flex lanes as "an additional two-lane roadway that carries one direction of traffic at a time and can alternate between north- and southbound depending on the greatest need due to capacity.”