The northbound stretch of State Route 51 (Piestewa Freeway) in Phoenix is scheduled to be closed for part of the upcoming weekend (Sept. 20-21) while crews apply pavement sealant along the freeway, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Northbound SR 51 will be closed between the Interstate 10 “Mini-Stack” interchange and Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) starting at 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21. Drivers in the area can consider using westbound I-10 to northbound I-17 as an alternate route to reach eastbound Loop 10. 

Crews will work to reopen sections of the northbound lanes in phases on Saturday as the pavement sealant dries and new lane striping is placed along the freeway. All work is scheduled to be completed by 9 p.m. Saturday. The southbound freeway is scheduled to be closed over the Sept. 27-28 weekend.

ADOT has used the pavement sealant process on several sections of Phoenix-area freeways in recent years. Tanker trucks fitted with spray nozzles apply the oil-based emulsion to the asphalt pavement to refresh and extend its service life by several years. 

Real-time highway conditions are available on ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov and via the AZ511 app (download free for Apple and Android devices). ADOT also provides highway condition updates via its X/Twitter feed, @ArizonaDOT.