Compared with most other freeways in metropolitan Phoenix, the 13-mile segment of Loop 101 between I-17 on the city’s north side and Pima Road in Scottsdale is relatively new, having been completed in the late 1990s. In that short span of time, however, the area’s population has grown by more than 60%, an increase that has put more vehicles on major roadways and accelerated demands on the highway’s design capacity, particularly during peak morning and evening travel periods.
A $185-million design-build widening project currently underway by the Arizona Dept. of Transportation aims to ease congestion woes in the corridor, also known as the Pima Freeway.