PHOENIX — New road projects across Maricopa County are officially moving forward in the new year, turning long-discussed plans into active construction zones.
Back in 2024, voters approved Proposition 479, a half-cent sales tax designed to fund transportation improvements and keep the Valley moving. Those dollars are now being put to use, starting with the interchange at Loop 303 and Interstate 17.
Maricopa Association of Governments says major changes are coming to the area as traffic and development continue to surge.
“It is a traffic signalized intersection. So you can imagine that is not great for all the traffic and growth that area has seen,” Arminta Syed with MAG said.
That growth has accelerated in recent years, fueled by large-scale development tied to TSMC and thousands of new homes and apartments nearby. For longtime Sonoran Foothills resident Terri Ziehlke, the boom has created daily driving headaches.
“From 303, to go south on I-17 it can be a two-mile backup because of the light and cross traffic,” Ziehlke said.
To address the bottleneck, the traffic signals at the interchange are going away, making room for a full ramp system.
“This project will upgrade that existing interchange to a system interchange with ramps and go above the 303,” Syed said.
Transportation officials say the goal is fewer brake lights and a safer, faster commute for thousands of Valley drivers.
“It’s progress, we all have to live with progress, and I love that, and it’ll be easier for everyone in the chip factory and everywhere else to get going south on I-17,” Ziehlke said.
The Loop 303 and I-17 project is just one piece of a much larger transportation plan funded by Proposition 479.
“There are several areas in need of a systemic upgrade to facilitate some of those bigger traffic numbers,” Syed said.
Over the next decade, Prop 479 dollars will fund more than 150 transportation projects across Maricopa County.
Among them, construction of State Route 30 in the West Valley, a new freeway designed to relieve congestion on Interstate 10 West. The long-awaited widening of State Route 347 is also on the plan, helping keep up with rapid growth in the City of Maricopa.
The Loop 303 and I-17 interchange project is expected to take about two years to complete.
A full list of planned Proposition 479 projects, including ones near your neighborhood, can be found here.