Project to widen I-10 in Casa Grande set to start

PHOENIX – With a second Interstate 10 widening project in Pinal County scheduled to begin in the next week, drivers can look forward to having three lanes in each direction between Casa Grande and Tucson within 18 months.

Arizona Department of Transportation crews will begin work to widen 1-10 from just south of Earley Road to Interstate 8 (mileposts 196-200) in Casa Grande. The $36.6 million project is scheduled for completion by summer 2019.

The project is just west of another at Eloy (mileposts 209-213), where ADOT crews are building new lanes, adding a new traffic interchange at State Route 87 and creating a first-of-its-kind dust detection zone. That project, which began in December, is scheduled to be completed in fall 2019.

The Casa Grande widening project will add one lane in each direction adjacent to the median, with a concrete barrier separating directions of travel, and will create new bridges over Jimmie Kerr Boulevard. The work also will include auxiliary lanes in both directions between I-8 and Jimmie Kerr Boulevard, providing a safer alternative to the existing ramps.

A joint venture of Ames and Combs construction companies will perform the work.

Although crews will be working near travel lanes, the project at Casa Grande isn’t expected to increase congestion in the area. Lane restrictions are expected to take place at night, leaving two lanes open to traffic in both directions during heavy travel times. The Eloy widening project also is expected to cause minimal disruption for drivers because the new I-10 lanes and SR 87 interchanges are being built east of the current freeway alignment.