Few situations are as stressful as hitting traffic on your way to the airport … especially if you’re holding on to that non-refundable ticket for a trip out of town. That’s why ADOT is working on reconstructing the State Route 143/Sky Harbor Boulevard Traffic Interchange to improve access to and from the airport.

Ever been stuck on the side of the road? Perhaps a flat tire was to blame, or maybe an overheated engine forced you to pull over. Whatever the reason, most will agree the side of a busy freeway is not the ideal parking spot.

With the number of road construction projects happening around the Valley right now, chances are you’ve driven through an active construction zone or two recently. Maybe you’ve noticed the lane lines in some of these construction zones look a little different. A little … temporary?

Some terrain is so rough and rocky that even heavy-duty machinery can’t break through. That was the case last Thursday when ADOT crews used more than 7,000 lbs. of explosives to remove roughly 8,000 cubic yards of material along SR 260, about 20 miles east of Payson.

The wait is over! After more than three years since work first started, West Valley motorists now have a new and improved drive on I-10 as it stretches through Buckeye, Goodyear, Avondale and Tolleson.

In Arizona steps are being taken toward that future with the operation of METRO Light Rail and the anticipated launch of Tucson’s modern streetcar project. While ADOT is not responsible for rail transit in the state, the agency does play an important role …

Much has changed since ADOT got its start in 1927. Back then, the agency was known as the Arizona State Highway Department and roads certainly were built a little differently. Methods, materials and technology have changed so much since then.

When it comes to describing some hauls, the term “oversize load” is a major understatement. We’re talking about the enormous “super-loads” driven through the state each day. Maybe you’ve seen them on the freeways … they’re the trucks lugging gigantic transformers, generators, turbines, and even houseboats.

The new Mescal Road/J-Six interchange is taking shape! The Cochise County bridge will soon reunite two communities that were unexpectedly disconnected after trucks collided beneath the old overpass in March.

Think back to 1984. You might recall that the United States hosted the summer Olympics in Los Angeles and Michael Jackson’s Thriller snagged eight Grammy Awards. It’s also when the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) identified the need for a West Valley regional connector freeway later to be dubbed Loop 303.

The need for pedestrian and bicyclist safety at schools, especially involving young students, cannot be overemphasized. While federal, state and local agencies are encouraging fit and healthy lifestyles by promoting walking and biking to school, the safety of these children should be our highest priority.

Remember when we first blogged about Arizona’s Long-Range Transportation Plan? It’s the plan that’s updated every five years and helps set ADOT’s priorities when it comes to the state’s transportation needs over the next 25 years.

With roughly 240,000 vehicles driving through it each day, the I-10 Deck Park Tunnel needs the night off every once in a while for a good, thorough scrub! Just about every four months, the tunnel is closed to traffic in order to allow crews the chance to wash the walls, maintain the ventilation systems and check on the tunnel’s 3,700 light fixtures (about 150-200 light bulbs are changed out each quarter!).

Last week we gave you an update on how the new Mescal/J-Six bridge is coming along... You might also remember that the night the damaged bridge was taken down, the old Marsh Station bridge was also demolished just a few miles away. It was a huge project that required completely shutting down I-10 for the night.

Now that you know a little about the ADOT permitting process involved with moving oversize loads, take a look at the latest heavy haul to cross Arizona’s highways. The video above shows just a portion of the journey this 285-ton load took beginning the first week of August.

An ADOT Highway Operations Supervisor came across a sight Monday morning that he’s never seen before … As he was driving by Jeddito Wash on SR 87, Elliott Koinva noticed that thousands of tumbleweeds had clustered together to form a kind of solid wall.

If you live and drive the Loop 101 in the West and North Valley you probably noticed the first stretch of HOV lanes on the eastbound Loop 101 recently opened. These new lanes already have helped to ease congestion in the North Valley, especially during the morning commute. You may have also noticed that the westbound HOV lanes appear to be done as well, but are not opened. ADOT has not decided to taunt you – these lanes aren’t open yet for a reason.

If you’ve been following along in the blog, you know that we’ve been chronicling ADOT’s reconstruction of the Mescal/J-Six bridge in southern Arizona since it was severely damaged when two semi trucks collided underneath it back in March. Completion of the fast-tracked bridge reconstruction is slated for later this month.

It’s not often that a tree gets wrapped up in a mystery, but a lot of unanswered questions surround one Juniper growing next to I-17. Some Arizonans might already know about the tree – it’s actually sort of famous around the state and even has its own Wikipedia page.

A couple months ago we told you how ADOT works to minimize the noise impact a new freeway has on surrounding neighborhoods. Well, similar efforts also are made when it comes to air quality …