Preliminary work for Ina Road interchange project begins Monday, July 11

An Arizona Department of Transportation project to make the interchange of Interstate 10 and Ina Road in Marana safer and easier to navigate kicks off next week, although significant roadway restrictions are still six months or more away.

Beginning Monday, July 11, drivers on Ina Road and I-10 should expect occasional delays as crews improve frontage roads and make other changes to prepare for work that includes building a bridge and interchange carrying Ina over the Union Pacific railroad tracks as well as widening I-10 and Ina, northwest of Tucson.

Among this early work:

• Overnight utility work will narrow eastbound I-10 to one lane from Cortaro Road to Ina Road between 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 13, and 5 a.m. Thursday, July 14. The eastbound I-10 off-ramp at Ina will be closed during this time.
• Westbound I-10 will be reduced to one lane between Orange Grove Road and Ina Road from 8 p.m. Thursday, July 14, to 5 a.m. Friday, July 15, with the westbound I-10 off-ramp at Ina closed during this time.
• Ina Road will be narrowed to one lane in each direction overnight between the railroad tracks and Camino de la Cruz, a quarter mile to the east, on Wednesday and Thursday nights, July 13 and 14, as well as the following week (July 17-22) so crews can remove and repave the center median islands.

Starting in early 2017, the $120 million project will require a roughly two-year closure of Ina Road as well as restrictions on I-10 for construction of the overpass and interchange.

“This is a very important project for this area,” said Rod Lane, ADOT district engineer. “Not only will these improvements allow traffic to move more quickly through this area, but it also will be safer for drivers who no longer will have to cross the train tracks.”

Drivers can expect lane closures to continue on the eastbound frontage road and Starcommerce Way from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily for utility work. Crews also will build a ramp connecting Ina Road with the eastbound frontage road as well as four crossover ramps, two north of Canyon del Oro Wash and two more north of Massingale Road.

By the end of July, the westbound frontage road will close for the rest of 2016 while crews widen and improve the frontage road to handle westbound I-10 traffic when freeway construction begins in early 2017. Ina Road will be reduced to one lane in each direction during much of this work.

Drivers may want to consider alternate routes to save time, including Cortaro Road to the north of Ina and Orange Grove Road to the south.

The project is funded by the Regional Transportation Authority, managed by the Pima Association of Governments.