Drivers headed to northern Arizona may have an easier commute on the busy Interstate 17 this Memorial Day.
On Thursday, the Arizona Department of Transportation opened new lanes in both directions on a 15-mile portion of the highway between Anthem Way and Black Canyon City north of Phoenix. That section of I-17 sees about 1 million travelers a year.
The new lanes are part of the I-17 Improvement Project, a $522 million effort to improve the highway between Anthem Way and Sunset Point Rest Area. Construction also will include 8 miles of reversible flex lanes.
“So the overall I-17 Improvement project includes not only the widening from Anthem Way to Black Canyon City, but it also includes the two flex lanes between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point," said ADOT spokesperson Laura Douglas.
She also says the additional infrastructure addresses the heavy travel.
“It's also considered a key commerce corridor, which means not only is it used for travel and tourism purposes, but it's also used by commercial truck traffic," she said.
Douglas says the 23-mile corridor of the I-17 Improvement Project is still under construction and asks drivers to obey the 65 mph speed limit.
The flex lanes, a first-of-its-kind system in Arizona, will carry northbound traffic most of the time — including the start of weekends, when many Valley residents head north. At the end of the weekend, with more traffic headed back to Phoenix, the lanes will be reversed to handle the southbound traffic. ADOT says those lanes are expected to open later this year.
And the other good news for Arizona travelers this weekend — there are no scheduled road closures on state highways or in the Phoenix area from Friday afternoon through late Monday night, ADOT said Wednesday.
Al Macias contributed to this report.
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