Ina Road/I-10 interchange project on schedule as halfway point nears

MARANA – Over the next three months, drivers in northwestern Pima County will see important advances as the two-year Interstate 10/Ina Road traffic interchange project moves on schedule toward the halfway point.

With pavement now in place for what will become the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 at Ina Road, crews will begin steps to move traffic to those new lanes so work can begin on the westbound lanes of I-10.

The first step: pouring concrete for the bridge decks that will carry Ina Road over Interstate 10 and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. Supports for the bridges have been put in place over the past few months. The deck pour is scheduled to begin about 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Crews will pour the deck only for the western half of the bridge that will cross above the new eastbound lanes of I-10. That will avoid requiring any restrictions on I-10 traffic during the work.

All I-10 traffic will be moved to the new eastbound lanes so work can begin on the westbound side of the freeway. Eastbound traffic will move to the new pavement in mid-December, with westbound traffic moving to the new pavement about a month later. Three lanes will be maintained in each direction until the project is complete in early 2019.

When the work is finished, I-10 will include four lanes in each direction, an addition of one lane each way.

In late December, Ina Road traffic west of the freeway will be moved to the new bridge over the Santa Cruz River. That will allow ADOT crews to remove the existing bridge and replace it with a new two-lane bridge that eventually will carry westbound traffic on Ina Road.

The Ina Road project is designed to improve traffic flow and driver safety in Marana and the surrounding community. The new Ina Road bridge at I-10 will allow drivers to travel without delays for passing trains. Completion is scheduled for early 2019.

ADOT is overseeing the $128 million project, which is funded by the Federal Highway Administration, the Pima Association of Governments and the Regional Transportation Authority. The town of Marana is contributing $7.9 million toward the cost of the new bridges over the Santa Cruz River west of I-10.