Phoenix drivers who need Loop 101, Loop 202, or State Route 51 this weekend should rebuild their routes now, because the Arizona Department of Transportation has posted multi-night full closures and ramp outages from Friday night through early Monday.
The official ADOT Weekend Freeway Travel Advisory for July 31 to August 3 lists westbound Loop 101 and westbound Loop 202 full closures, a northbound SR 51 lane cut, and a Tempe ramp package that severs Loop 101 access to the Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway overnight.
ADOT's corridor pages for Loop 101 Agua Fria and Loop 202 restate the same Friday-to-Monday clocks and add ramp-level detour detail travelers need on the ground.
This is a new weekend package, not a refresh of Deep Arrival's July 24 to 27 Loop 101, Loop 202, and Loop 303 advisory. The segments, directions, and ramp list are different enough that last weekend's map will send you into closed barrels.
- Window: About 10 p.m Friday July 31 to 5 am Monday August 3 on main full closures.
- Full closures: Westbound Loop 101 (I-17 to 51st Ave) and westbound Loop 202 (Williams Field to Gilbert).
- Tempe ramps: All Loop 101 ramps to Loop 202 Red Mountain closed from 8 p.m Friday.
- Lane cut: Northbound SR 51 narrowed Northern Avenue to Shea Boulevard all weekend.
- Action: Leave earlier, use ADOT detours, and recheck AZ511 before airport or hotel runs.
What is closed and when
Westbound Loop 101, the Agua Fria Freeway, is closed between Interstate 17 and 51st Avenue in the Northwest Valley from 10 p.m Friday to 5 am Monday for a widening project.
ADOT also closes the northbound and southbound I-17 ramps to westbound Loop 101, plus westbound Loop 101 on-ramps at Seventh Street and Seventh Avenue for the same window.
The corridor page adds that westbound Loop 101 on-ramps at 27th and 35th avenues are closed in the same Friday-to-Monday block, and the eastbound Loop 101 on-ramp at 75th Avenue is closed on the same clock.
Westbound Loop 202, the Santan Freeway, is closed between Williams Field and Gilbert roads in the Southeast Valley from 10 p.m Friday to 5 am Monday for widening.
The westbound Loop 202 on-ramp at Higley Road is closed with that segment.
Northbound State Route 51 is narrowed to two lanes between Northern Avenue and Shea Boulevard from 9 p.m Friday to 5 am Monday for pavement work, and the northbound SR 51 on-ramp at Shea Boulevard is closed for that full weekend block.
Separately, all northbound and southbound Loop 101 ramps to Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway in the Tempe area close from 8 p.m Friday to 5 am Monday for pavement work, and the southbound Loop 101 on-ramp at McKellips Road closes with them.
Those Tempe ramps matter for airport-area and East Valley transfers even when the Agua Fria and Santan mainline cuts sit farther out.
Detours ADOT wants drivers to use
For westbound Loop 101, ADOT points drivers to westbound Union Hills Drive or Bell Road to travel beyond the I-17 to 51st Avenue closure. The Loop 101 corridor page also suggests westbound Union Hills Drive to 51st or 59th avenues to re-enter westbound Loop 101 when the mainline is dark.
For the eastbound 75th Avenue on-ramp outage, ADOT suggests the eastbound frontage road or eastbound Loop 101 on-ramps at Union Hills Drive or 67th Avenue.
For westbound Loop 202 Santan, use southbound Higley Road to westbound Germann Road, or westbound Williams Field Road, to get past the Williams Field to Gilbert gap. ADOT also lists westbound US 60 Superstition Freeway as an alternate freeway route.
For northbound SR 51, ADOT recommends northbound Interstate 17 as an alternate freeway route into north Phoenix, and the corridor page lists the Cactus Road on-ramp as a substitute when Shea Boulevard is closed.
For the Tempe Loop 101 to Loop 202 Red Mountain ramp package, ADOT says exit ahead of the closed ramps and use local routes such as McKellips and Alma School roads, or Scottsdale and Rural roads with University Drive, to reconnect.
Restriction schedules can change for weather or other factors. Treat the July 30 advisory as the baseline and recheck AZ511.gov, the az511 app, or 511 before you lock a flight pickup or hotel check-in time.
Who should change plans first
Northwest Valley drivers who normally merge from I-17 onto westbound Loop 101 will meet a hard stop Friday through early Monday. Build surface-street time into any Peoria, Glendale, or Surprise return that used that merge as a default.
Southeast Valley travelers between Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler, and Queen Creek should not assume westbound Santan is available overnight. Late arrivals into East Valley hotels after Sky Harbor flights need the Higley or Williams Field detour written into the trip notes, not only into a phone map.
Tempe and Red Mountain Freeway transfers are the stealth risk. Even if you never use Agua Fria or Santan, closed Loop 101 ramps to Loop 202 can strand a rideshare or shuttle that still thinks the freeway-to-freeway move is open after 8 p.m
Families heading to water parks or day trips that use East Valley freeways should leave earlier for both the outbound and the return. Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Phoenix planners can still use Deep Arrival's Hurricane Harbor Phoenix planning hub for park logistics, then layer this freeway window on top of gate times.
RV and multi-day visitors based near Scottsdale should treat northbound SR 51 as a slow two-lane segment, not a full stop. The Scottsdale RV parks and campgrounds guide remains useful for lodging choice while I-17 carries more northbound volume.
Hotel shuttles and charter coaches should publish the named detours rather than assuming GPS alone will keep vehicles on freeways. A missed ramp on an unfamiliar arterial can erase 20 to 40 minutes before boarding or check-in.
What continues after Monday morning
ADOT reminds drivers that northbound SR 51 remains narrowed to two left lanes around the clock near Camelback Road for pavement replacement work that began the week of July 27 and is planned for roughly seven weeks.
That longer Highland to Camelback lane cut is separate from the weekend Northern Avenue to Shea Boulevard restriction, and it will keep northbound Piestewa slower after the weekend barrels come down.
The Loop 101 corridor page also lists an upcoming westbound Loop 101 closure between 51st and 75th avenues from 10 p.m Friday August 7 to 5 am Monday August 10, with related I-17 and on-ramp outages.
Loop 202's next listed full cut is eastbound between Price Road and Arizona Avenue on the same August 7 to 10 weekend window. Drivers who clear this weekend still need a second map for the following one.
ADOT frames the Phoenix-area work as part of the Regional Transportation Plan funded in part by Proposition 400, with Proposition 479 extending the sales tax after the November 2024 vote. Funding context explains why multi-weekend closures keep returning, but it does not change this weekend's detour list.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Need westbound Loop 101 between I-17 and 51st Avenue | Use Union Hills Drive or Bell Road and re-enter west of the closure; avoid I-17 ramps to westbound 101. |
| Drive westbound Loop 202 between Williams Field and Gilbert | Use Higley to Germann or Williams Field Road, or divert to westbound US 60. |
| Transfer from Loop 101 to Loop 202 Red Mountain in Tempe after 8 p.m | Exit early and use McKellips, Alma School, Scottsdale/Rural, or University Drive. |
| Travel northbound SR 51 toward Shea this weekend | Expect two-lane flow, skip the Shea on-ramp, and consider I-17 for longer northbound trips. |
| Have a Sky Harbor to East Valley late arrival Friday through Sunday | Write the Santan and Red Mountain detours into the pickup plan before the plane lands. |
- Leave earlier: Build buffer Friday night through Monday morning on every listed segment.
- Recheck AZ511: Schedules can change for weather; refresh before airport or event departures.
- Use named detours: Prefer ADOT's published surface routes over untested GPS shortcuts.
- Watch SR 51 after Monday: The Camelback-area lane cut continues for weeks after this weekend.
- Mark August 7 to 10: The next Loop 101 and Loop 202 full cuts are already posted.
If your only remaining drive is early Monday before 5 am, treat the full closures as still live until ADOT reopens each segment.
Do not plan a tight airport connection that depends on a westbound Loop 101 or Loop 202 mainline move until the Monday morning reopen is confirmed on AZ511.
When do the Phoenix weekend freeway closures end?
Most full closures and the SR 51 weekend lane cut run through about 5 am Monday, August 3, according to ADOT's July 31 to August 3 advisory.
Is Loop 101 closed both directions?
No. The headline full closure is westbound Loop 101 between I-17 and 51st Avenue, with related ramps; the Tempe package separately closes Loop 101 ramps to Loop 202 Red Mountain both ways overnight.
Does SR 51 close completely this weekend?
No. Northbound SR 51 is narrowed to two lanes between Northern Avenue and Shea Boulevard, and the Shea on-ramp is closed for the weekend window.
What is different from the July 24 to 27 Phoenix freeway work?
This package swaps in westbound Agua Fria and westbound Santan full closures plus Tempe Red Mountain ramp outages, instead of last weekend's southbound Price, eastbound Santan, and Loop 303 list.
Will SR 51 stay restricted after Monday?
Yes. ADOT continues around-the-clock northbound narrowing near Camelback Road for pavement replacement planned for roughly seven weeks after the late-July start.
