| State Loop 303 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estrella Freeway | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by ADOT | ||||
| Length: | 35.25 mi[1] (56.73 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1985 – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| CCW end: | I-10 in Goodyear | |||
| US 60 in Surprise | ||||
| CW end: | I-17 north of Phoenix | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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State routes in Arizona
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State Route 303, also known as Loop 303, Bob Stump Memorial Parkway , and Estrella Freeway, is a state highway that was maintained by Maricopa County[2] in central Arizona serving the far western suburbs of the Phoenix metropolitan area until 2004 when the Arizona Department of Transportation again took the control of upgrading the interim road to a freeway. As of 2004 it was also named "Bob Stump Memorial Parkway" to honor former Arizona congressman Bob Stump.[3]
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Its current route is from just north of the Cotton Lane exit of Interstate 10 in Goodyear to Interstate 17 south of Carefree Highway. Unlike Loop 101 and Loop 202, Loop 303 is not a controlled-access freeway from Interstate 10, although there are plans to upgrade its status within the next 5 years. The section of freeway between Happy Valley Parkway/Vistancia Boulevard to Interstate 17 is controlled-access. Although it has not been fully constructed, portions of Loop 303 from Lake Pleasant Parkway to Interstate 17 officially opened to traffic on May 13, 2011.
Loop 303 was originally a part of the 1985 Maricopa County Regional Transportation Plan to be funded by a sales tax approved by Maricopa County voters. The freeway, designed to service the Northwest Valley, would have been completed sometime by 2014. However, funding shortfalls and increasing construction costs forced cutbacks in the plan, and in 1995 the freeway was dropped from the regional plans.
Maricopa County took charge of the Estrella Freeway project when it was dropped from the regional freeway plans, maintaining it as an interim 2-lane highway along the original corridor while keeping the state route designation. The county has made significant improvements to the roadway, extending it several miles north and east of US 60. While the highway is still largely a 2-lane rural road, the extension north of US 60 along with the southern terminus just north of Interstate 10 have been upgraded to a 4-lane divided parkway, and the segment between US 60 and Bell Road in Surprise has been partially upgraded to controlled-highway standards with overpasses and right-of-way for on-ramps.[4]
With the extension of the sales tax approved in 2004, the highway has once again been added to the Regional Transportation Plan. As Maricopa County has completed much of the required study and preparation work, construction on the freeway is already underway with a planned completion date of the I-10 to I-17 segment by 2015. In mid 2011 the segment between Happy Valley Parkway and I-17 was completed as a four lane highway with an interchange at Lone Mountain Parkway completed but closed to the public. Currently, motorists must pass through a signaled interchange until a freeway to freeway interchange is built between SR303 and I-17. According to a recent agreement between the state legislature and the state department of transportation, STAN (Statewide Transportation Acceleration Needs) funds were used to build a partial interchange at Bell Road in summer 2010, several years before previously intended.[5]
In response to a projected budget shortfall of $6.6 billion brought on by the recession, the Maricopa Association of Governments voted to suspend funding to numerous projects during a meeting on October 28, 2009. Some modifications to Loop 303, such as a scaled-back design of its interchanges with I-10 and US Highway 60, were made to cope with the budget shortfall. Funding for an extension south of I-10 to the planned alignment of SR 30 was removed, effectively postponing the extension until after 2025.[6]
| Location | Mile[1] | Street Exit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodyear (as Cotton Lane) | 3.80 | Cotton Lane | Southern terminus, roadway continues south as Cotton Lane |
| 3.93 | I-10 | Site of future stack interchange (2011-2015) | |
| Goodyear, Litchfield Park | 4.14 | McDowell Road | At-grade intersection |
| Litchfield Park | 5.19 | Thomas Road and Cotton Lane | At-grade intersection, future interchange (2011-2015) |
| 6.19 | Indian School Road | At-grade intersection, future interchange (2011-2015) | |
| Litchfield Park and Bumstead | 7.19 | Camelback Road | At-grade intersection, future interchange (2011-2015) |
| Bumstead | 8.19 | Bethany Home Road | At-grade intersection, future interchange (2011-2015) |
| 9.19 | Glendale Avenue | At-grade intersection, future interchange (2011-2015) | |
| 10.19 | Northern Avenue | At-grade intersection, future half interchange (2011-2015) | |
| Northern Parkway | Future interchange (2011-2015) | ||
| 11.19 | Olive Avenue | At-grade intersection, future interchange (2011-2015) | |
| Bumstead and Waddell | 12.20 | Peoria Avenue | At-grade intersection, future interchange (2011-2015) |
| Waddell | 13.20 | Cactus Road | At-grade intersection, future interchange (2011-2015) |
| 14.20 | Waddell Road | At-grade intersection, future interchange (2011-2015) | |
| Waddell, Surprise | 15.20 | Greenway Road | At-grade intersection, future interchange (2011-2015) |
| Surprise | 16.20 | Bell Road | At-grade intersection, future interchange (2011-2015) |
| 19.33 | US 60 (Grand Avenue) | Partial interchange, to be completed by 2015 | |
| 21.20 | El Mirage Road | At grade intersection, future interchange (2016-2025) | |
| Peoria | 24.81 | Happy Valley Road and Vistancia Boulevard | |
| 26.31 | Lone Mountain Parkway | Opening Fall 2011 | |
| 27.81 | Lake Pleasant Parkway | ||
| 30.95 | Pyramid Peak Parkway (67th Avenue) | Opening Summer 2012 | |
| Phoenix | 32.23 | Stetson Valley Parkway (51st Avenue) | Completion Date Undecided |
| 35.23 | I-17 | Northern Terminus of Loop 303 |
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