PHOENIX — The Arizona Cardinals are playing the Detroit Lions in Glendale on Sunday for the first home game of the 2019-2020 NFL season.
But transportation officials are advising fans who are going to rise up with the Red Sea at State Farm Stadium that construction-based traffic shouldn't be one of their worries.
The Arizona Department of Transportation said the closure on westbound Interstate 10 west of downtown Phoenix would be lifted "long before" fans make their way to the stadium for the team's home opener.
The freeway is expected to be closed between 35th and 67th avenues until 7 a.m. Sunday.
The ramps from Interstate 17 to westbound I-10 and the 27th Avenue westbound on-ramp will also be closed.
The closures will allow crews to work on connecting I-10 for the long-awaited Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway interchange.
Drivers on the road ahead of the restrictions getting lifted should expect long delays at 35th Avenue.
They are encouraged to consider exiting I-10 no later than I-17, then driving north to McDowell Road or south to Van Buren Street and traveling west to re-enter I-10.
But drivers should anticipate future closures and lane restrictions, as additional work along I-10 west of downtown Phoenix will require them on weekends throughout September and October.
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