Two large wooden cable reels chained and strapped on a flatbed trailer

By the Connect Express Team, Glendale, AZ. Published October 20, 2026.

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has scheduled a new round of overnight and weekend closures on Loop 303 between 43rd Avenue and Interstate 17, starting Monday, October 19, 2026. The work is part of ADOT’s Loop 303, Lake Pleasant Parkway to I-17 improvement project, which is adding a third general-purpose lane in each direction and building direct connecting ramps at the Loop 303/I-17 system interchange. ADOT also reminds drivers that a 15-foot vehicle height restriction stays in place on eastbound Loop 303 in that stretch through early December.

The closure schedule

According to ADOT’s project page:

Oct. 19 to 26: eastbound Loop 303 closes nightly between 43rd Avenue and I-17 from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., Monday night through Friday morning (Oct. 23), then stays closed from 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, to 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 26.
Oct. 26 to Nov. 2: the same pattern repeats, with nightly eastbound closures from Monday, Oct. 26, through Friday morning, Oct. 30, and a continuous eastbound closure from 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, to 5 a.m. Monday, Nov. 2.
During those closures the southbound I-17 on-ramp at Dixileta Drive is also closed, and westbound Loop 303 between I-17 and 43rd Avenue narrows to one lane.
The work-zone speed limit is 55 mph for the length of the project, which ADOT expects to take about two and a half years from its January 2026 start.

ADOT’s detours

For eastbound Loop 303 traffic, ADOT’s detour is northbound 43rd Avenue to eastbound Dove Valley Road to reach northbound or southbound I-17, or Dove Valley Road to southbound North Valley Parkway to reach Sonoran Desert Drive. Drivers who would normally use the closed Dixileta Drive ramp can take the southbound I-17 frontage road to Jomax Road. ADOT notes that schedules can change, so check AZ511 before dispatching a night run.

What this means for Phoenix-area shippers and carriers

The 15-foot limit matters most for over-height freight. Under Arizona Revised Statutes 28-1094, a vehicle and load can’t exceed 13 feet 6 inches without a permit (14 feet on designated routes), so most legal dry van and flatbed loads clear 15 feet. Permitted over-height moves, like tall machinery, tanks or large cable reels, may not. If your load is in that range, the route has to avoid eastbound Loop 303 between 43rd Avenue and I-17 until ADOT lifts the restriction, so check the permit route against current ADOT notices before the move. Our oversize load trucking page explains how over-dimensional moves are planned, and our guide to getting oversize permits covers what to send first.

The detour also runs along the streets that serve a major north Valley industrial site. A federal environmental assessment for the TSMC Arizona campus (NIST, 2024) places the site between Loop 303, 43rd Avenue and Dove Valley Road, with access via Dove Valley Road and the 43rd Avenue exit. Expect detoured freeway traffic to share those streets on closure nights. Shippers with overnight or early-morning appointments north of the Loop 303/I-17 interchange should build in extra time or move pickups outside the 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. window where they can.

For daytime flatbed loads and other legal-height freight, the main impacts are the 55 mph work zone and the overnight lane closures. It’s a reminder that Phoenix truckload shipping schedules should account for ADOT’s posted restrictions, not just distance.

Connect Express runs freight across the Phoenix metro from our base in Glendale, AZ at 5701 W Maryland Ave, Glendale, AZ 85301. Planning a tall or wide load through the north Valley? Call 480-401-1998 or email admin@connectexpressllc.com.