At 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, ADOT plans to close eastbound Loop 101 between 75th and 51st avenues until 5 a.m. Monday. The eastbound on-ramps at Bell Road and Union Hills Drive close for the same stretch. It's one of the last big closures on a project that has been under construction since late September 2024. According to the most recent public update, the new lanes should be finished before October ends.
"Before October ends" refers to the lanes, though, not the whole project. The same is true near Arrowhead Ranch in general this fall. The freeway, the trailheads at Thunderbird Conservation Park and the storefronts along Bell Road are all changing, but each finishes on its own date. When one detour ends, the next one is often already scheduled.
This weekend's closure, and the way around it
ADOT's posted detour for the Oct. 23–26 closure is eastbound Union Hills Drive, which gets you back on eastbound Loop 101 at 51st Avenue or 35th Avenue. Two other restrictions fall the same week, closer to I-17:
- Overnight Monday, Oct. 26: The ramps from eastbound Loop 101 to northbound and southbound I-17 close from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday. Eastbound 101 narrows to three lanes between 35th Avenue and I-17. That's the second round of the same closure, after a matching one on Oct. 19–20.
- Through 5 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27: The right lane of eastbound Loop 101 is closed between 35th Avenue and the 27th Avenue off-ramp and ramp to I-17. That closure started Oct. 20.
ADOT updates these notices on its Loop 101, 75th Avenue to I-17 project page, and that page is the one to check before a weekend drive. It lists closures week by week. The department has said most of the work happens overnight and on weekends to keep daytime traffic moving.
What "nearly done" covers, and what it doesn't
The project is a $140 million widening of Loop 101 between I-17 and 75th Avenue, taking the freeway to five lanes in each direction. ADOT's Kim Larson presented the latest timeline at an Oct. 7 community meeting at the Foothills Recreation and Aquatic Center in Glendale. According to the Independent's report on the meeting, the main lanes should be done before October ends. The finishing work on ramps, frontage roads and bridges should be done in February, and the project as a whole by early summer 2027. The paper also reported that "significant chunks" of the project wrapped up earlier than expected.
That timeline lines up with ADOT's original estimate. The department's page still says the work, which began in late September 2024, would take about two and a half years. The added lanes are the part drivers will see first. Much of the rest of the work happens at the interchanges and edges, and that's what continues after the lanes open. ADOT's list of project elements includes:
- A third southbound left-turn lane from 75th Avenue onto eastbound Loop 101
- Wider bridges at 51st, 35th and 31st avenues, plus new retaining walls
- An extra lane on the ramp from westbound Loop 101 to northbound I-17, plus a new northbound I-17 lane between Loop 101 and Pinnacle Peak Road to carry the added traffic
- New or modified noise walls where warranted
- Diamond grinding of the concrete to replace the worn asphalt, along with upgraded freeway and ramp lighting
The first item is at the 75th Avenue interchange, the exit for Arrowhead Towne Center. The project is funded by Prop 400, the half-cent countywide transportation sales tax that Maricopa County voters approved in 2004. At least one long-term restriction continues past the lane opening. The eastbound frontage road between 37th and 35th avenues is down to one lane through early 2027.
Thunderbird Conservation Park is on the same kind of schedule
Hiking season overlaps with the freeway's final months, and Thunderbird Conservation Park is in the middle of its own construction. The City of Glendale is rebuilding the parking lots and trailheads at Thunderbird Conservation Park one at a time, and it says all trails stay open throughout. The city's schedule:
- 59th Avenue lot and trailhead: closed April 6, 2026, through December 2026
- 55th Avenue lot and trailhead: closed July 13, 2026, through February 2027
- 67th Avenue lot and trailhead: closes January 2027 through August 2027
Of those three, 67th Avenue is the only one open this fall, and it's next in line to close. If the 59th Avenue work finishes on time, that lot should reopen in December, just before 67th Avenue shuts in January. That makes January the month to watch. The city says the dates may change and runs a project hotline at (602) 532-6250.
The season on one calendar
Here are all the posted dates for both projects in one place.
| When | Loop 101, 75th Ave to I-17 | Thunderbird Conservation Park |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 23–26 | Eastbound closed 75th to 51st Ave; Bell Rd and Union Hills on-ramps closed | 67th Ave trailhead open; 59th and 55th Ave closed |
| By Oct. 31 | Five lanes each way expected | No change |
| December 2026 | Ramp, frontage road and bridge work continues | 59th Ave closure scheduled to end |
| January 2027 | Ramp, frontage road and bridge work continues | 67th Ave closure begins |
| February 2027 | Ramp, frontage road and bridge work expected to wrap | 55th Ave closure scheduled to end |
| Early 2027 | Eastbound frontage road, 37th to 35th Ave, back to full width | 67th Ave closed |
| Early summer 2027 | Full project complete | 67th Ave closure runs through August |
Bell Road is changing in stages, too
The shopping corridor at the east end of the widening is also changing piece by piece, with some stores open, some closed and some announced.
Open now. Marshalls opened Aug. 20 at 7974 W. Bell Road, just west of Arrowhead Towne Center, according to the Glendale Independent. PHOENIX magazine's September openings roundup lists Wagyu Master Shabu at 16049 N. Arrowhead Fountains Center Drive in Peoria as a pop-up open through May 2027.
Closed. The same roundup reported that Pickleman's Gourmet Café has closed its only Arizona location, at Arrowhead Towne Center.
Coming, no firm date. Fogo de Chão is moving into the former On the Border at 7873 W. Bell Road in Peoria. The Arizona Republic reported in June that the Brazilian steakhouse expected to open in fall 2026 as the brand's first West Valley location. The company's own locations page still lists Peoria as "Coming Soon." Whole Foods Market is planned for 17510 N. 75th Ave., in the former Big Lots next to the mall. ABC15 reported the plan in February and gave no opening date. Inside the mall, the former Sears building is under construction as the Mosaic at Arrowhead.
Put those together and Bell Road matches the other two calendars. Some pieces are finished, some are still being built, and the opening dates people most want to know aren't public yet. The eastbound Bell Road on-ramp closes this weekend, and the freeway's ramp and frontage road work is expected to wrap in February, near the 75th Avenue and Bell Road corner where Fogo de Chão is set to open.
If the next few months make you rethink where you'd like to live and how you get around, I'm glad to talk it through. I'm Monica, and I've spent more than a decade helping families across Greater Phoenix, including Arrowhead Ranch, work out how a home fits the drive, the trailhead and the errands that come with it. I'll give you straight answers, local context and practical guidance. You can reach me through The Cryb Collective. Let's Connect.
