Phoenix’s “Most Disruptive” Highway Project Currently Being Planned

Beware, commuters Phoenix highways will be undergoing major reconstruction. Physical work on the Interstate 10-Broadway Curve project is still over a year away, but planners want to alert travelers early.

It’s the Valley’s first freeway reconstruction within the urban core. From where the I-10 and I-17 meet (commonly called “the split”), extending south to the I-10/Loop 202 interchange, workers will add HOV and general-purpose lanes, along with collector roads for people to bypass the mainline. Eric Anderson, executive director of Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), briefed Phoenix council members last week.

“This is going to be the most disruptive project we’ve had in this region from a transportation perspective,” he said. “It’s a long corridor. There’s about 4,000 employers in this corridor.”

Most of the work on the 11-mile corridor will be centered around State Route 143 and I-10 where more than 300,000 vehicles travel each day. Five bridges will be built in this area.

John Bullen, transportation program manager for MAG, told the council that MAG is working with Texas A&M Transportation Institute to develop a dynamic traffic simulation model.

“So based on the real world inputs, we’ll be able to develop ‘what if’ scenarios to understand how construction might impact traffic and what tools really we have at our disposal to be able to mitigate some of those impacts, to make things smoother,” he said.

Anderson said the project could save up to two million hours of travel time per year. Construction is estimated to begin spring 2021 and end summer 2024.

Broadway Curve Project Highlights

• Add lanes for a total of 6 general purpose and 2 HOV between I-10/I-17 and Baseline Road
• Add one lane south of Baseline Road to just north of I-10/Loop 202
• Add region’s first collector-distributor roadway system — eastbound SR 143 to Baseline Road and westbound Baseline Road to SR 143 and 40th Street.
• Build 5 bridges
• Widen SR 143 and U.S. 60 interchange

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