Rebuilding five miles of I-40 for a better winter ride

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications

With a nearly perfect weather day in Williams – beautiful blue skies, temperatures in the 70s, a gentle breeze blowing out of the west – you’re likely not the only one thinking of enjoying the beauty of northern Arizona.

Not us. We’re thinking about winter.

You remember winter. It’s the time when constant freezing and thawing creates potholes on Interstate 40, one of the West’s most-popular routes for cross-country truckers and fun-seeking travelers.

That’s why we’ve closed a five-mile section of eastbound I-40 west of Williams and have traffic in both directions sharing the westbound lanes, separated for safety by concrete barriers.

Starting this week, we’re rebuilding this stretch of I-40 starting with a new foundation. It’s a long-term fix for the damage winter wants to cause the roadway every year. The work will take us through much of the fall, so those restrictions on I-40 will be with us for a few months. We’re also putting a new surface on the Devil Dog Wash bridge deck.

Slow down, allow a little extra time and you should get through the area just fine. Keep an eye out for our crews.

Next spring we’ll do the same thing for the westbound lanes.

You’ll also want to allow a little extra time between Williams and Flagstaff while we repave 12 miles of roadway from milepost 179 to 191, just four miles west of Flagstaff. We’ll complete base paving before winter and come back in the spring to finish the job.

So go ahead and enjoy another beautiful August day in northern Arizona. Our crews will keep working so that when winter comes a better I-40 will be ready and waiting for you.