ADOT News: Crews to start diamond grinding Loop 101 pavement in north Valley

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Crews to start diamond grinding Loop 101 pavement in north Valley

Eastbound freeway closed this weekend between Tatum Blvd and Pima Rd
Diamond Grinding Santan Freeway in Chandler area

Work will start this weekend (Jan. 29-Feb. 1) to diamond grind the concrete pavement along Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) in the north Valley.

Diamond grinding involves the use of specialized machines equipped with diamond-tipped blades on rotating drums to smooth a freeway’s concrete surface while also creating grooves designed to limit noise from vehicle tires.

The pavement work is part of ADOT’s ongoing $185 million project to widen and make other improvements along Loop 101 between Interstate 17 in north Phoenix and Pima Road/Princess Drive in north Scottsdale.

Freeway closures or overnight lane restrictions are scheduled through mid-2021 for the diamond grinding work. The following initial closures and restrictions for diamond grinding are scheduled starting this weekend:

  • Eastbound Loop 101 closed between Tatum Boulevard and Pima Road from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday (Feb. 1). Northbound State Route 51 ramps to eastbound Loop 101 closed. DETOUR: Drivers should consider exiting ahead of Tatum Boulevard and using alternate routes. Eastbound Loop 101 traffic exiting at Tatum Boulevard can travel south and use eastbound Bell Road/Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard to access Loop 101.
  • Eastbound Loop 101 narrowed to two lanes overnight between 56th Street and Pima Road from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. weeknights from Feb. 1-12. Please allow extra travel time and be prepared to slow down and use caution in work zones.

Diamond grinding of the Loop 101 Pima Freeway will replace a layer of older, worn rubberized asphalt that was removed in the early stages of the improvement project, which started in Feb. 2019 and is scheduled for completion by this fall.

ADOT is partnering with the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), the Phoenix area’s freeway planning agency, on an analysis of pavement treatments used to limit tire noise generated by vehicles traveling on regional freeways.

Diamond grinding was completed last year along the Loop 101 Price Freeway south of Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) and Loop 202 (Santan Freeway) between I-10 and Loop 101 in the East Valley. Freeways where diamond grinding is used will be part of the pavement treatment analysis over the next few years.

At a time when rubberized asphalt overlays placed on a number of freeways have been extended beyond an anticipated service life of 10 years, ADOT and MAG have faced decisions about long-term costs associated with pavement wear over time. Diamond grinding is commonly used elsewhere in the country and is proven to effectively limit freeway noise.

The Loop 101 Pima Freeway improvement project is funded in part by Proposition 400, a regional sales tax approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004.