PHOENIX – The Governor’s Office and the Arizona Department of Transportation today announced Arizona has won a highly competitive $90 million federal highway grant to help expand and improve Interstate 17 north of Phoenix, including a flex lanes system between Black Canyon City and the Sunset Point Rest Area.

The Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant, awarded to the Arizona Department of Transportation by the Federal Highway Administration, will be used as part of an estimated $320 million project to add lanes along 23 miles of I-17 between Anthem Way and Sunset Point. Construction is scheduled to begin by 2021 and be completed in 2023.

“This is exciting news for Arizona and our growing economy,” said Governor Ducey. “Arizona’s fiscally conservative, balanced budget made significant investments in our state’s infrastructure. This additional funding will expand Interstate 17 in a critical commerce corridor, helping reduce congestion, improve traffic flow and increase public safety. My thanks to the Arizona Department of Transportation and all of our regional and federal partners for their hard work and advocacy on behalf of Arizona.”

“This is great news for the entire state and in particular for those living in and traveling to northern Arizona,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “I thank all of ADOT’s partners at the local, regional and federal level, including members of our congressional delegation and the Maricopa Association of Governments, for helping us move this much-needed project forward.”

The improvements to I-17 north of Phoenix are one of the state’s transportation priorities because that area regularly experiences heavy congestion due to crashes, disabled vehicles and increased weekend traffic.

The state budget recently passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Doug Ducey included an investment of $130 million in state funds to allow full construction of third lanes along the highway between Anthem Way and Black Canyon City as part of the larger I-17 improvement project.

Meanwhile, flex lanes along 8 miles of I-17 north of Black Canyon City will operate as a separate two-lane facility to carry one direction of traffic at any one time depending on need, with movable gates at end to control access. For example, the flex lanes will carry heavier northbound I-17 traffic on a Friday and southbound traffic on a Sunday. They also could provide extra lanes in one direction if an incident closes the regular I-17 lanes in the area between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point.

“I-17 plays a key role in moving people and products in Arizona and national commerce between regional and international markets, including Mexico,” Halikowski said. “There are no reasonable alternative routes when traffic on I-17 is impacted. That’s why this is both a state and national priority.” 

Environmental studies for the I-17 corridor north of Phoenix are scheduled for completion later this year.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, this round of the Infrastructure Rebuilding America discretionary grant program is making available between $855 million and $902.5 million for projects that help rebuild America’s infrastructure.

PHOENIX – A $1 million federal grant will allow transportation agencies to better leverage data to help people get around more efficiently in Arizona’s Sun Corridor, the fast-growing region stretching from the Phoenix area through Tucson to the border with Mexico.

The Arizona Department of Transportation, the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) and partner agencies will use the Federal Highway Administration grant to create Sun Cloud, a transportation data portal intended to inform infrastructure investments and improve mobility and safety in the region.

MAG, the transportation-planning agency for the Phoenix region, will serve as project manager to create the cloud-based repository and online portal for data contributed by ADOT, the Pima Association of Governments, the Sun Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Sierra Vista Metropolitan Planning Organization.

The goal: helping leaders make transportation investments that improve safety and mobility on roadways as well as streamlining the process of completing federally required environmental reviews. 

“Having accessible, usable and high-quality data and analytical tools is vital to moving people and goods more efficiently in the Sun Corridor and helping Arizona’s economy compete globally,” said Greg Byres, who leads ADOT’s Multimodal Planning Division.

ADOT was among nine state departments of transportation that received a total of $8.4 million in Federal Highway Administration Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration grants.

“Sun Cloud provides a vehicle for in-depth coordination across planning boundaries. It will help us look at the Sun Corridor as a whole to assess the collective impact of transportation projects and help us focus on specific strategies,” said MAG Chair Gail Barney, mayor of Queen Creek.                                               

Besides being a resource for transportation planning, the new online tool will be of value to businesses and members of the public. For example, instead of going to multiple agencies to seek information about a specific roadway, homeowners, university students, business owners and others will be able to easily access authoritative information in one place.

The data will involve traffic, socioeconomic and environmental details, crashes and project plans for Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, Santa Cruz and Cochise counties. It will be in formats that enable use in mobile applications.

PHOENIX – Grants from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety will allow many Phoenix-area law enforcement officers and others called to testify in cases before the Arizona Department of Transportation’s administrative law judges to do so by video conferencing from locations in Mesa and Glendale.

Two grants totaling $50,000 will be used to expand an ADOT Executive Hearing Office video conferencing system already used in Flagstaff, Kingman, Prescott, Sierra Vista, Show Low, Tucson and Yuma.

Executive Hearing Office judges heard more than 7,700 administrative cases in 2017 in Phoenix courtrooms as well as through video conferencing with sites around Arizona. Many cases involve reinstatement of driver licenses suspended due to a DUI, medical review for reinstating driver licenses, motor carrier violations and fuel tax evasion.

For most cases from outside the Phoenix area, law enforcement officers and other parties are directed to report to a video conference site, though a party may request to appear in a courtroom at the ADOT Executive Hearing Office at 3838 N. Central Ave., just north of downtown Phoenix.

That process soon will apply to cases in which certain Phoenix-area parties will be directed to video conferencing sites to be established this summer at Motor Vehicle Division offices at 4121 E. Valley Auto Drive in Mesa and 16380 N. 59th Ave. in Glendale.

Getting to Executive Hearing Office courtrooms can require long trips and significant commitments of time for many law enforcement officers in the greater Phoenix area. Reducing that time can save tax dollars by reducing overtime costs in addition to reducing how long officers are away from their primary duties.

In gauging support for these new video conference sites, ADOT surveyed police chiefs and traffic officer supervisors from law enforcement agencies  in the East Valley and West Valley.

“ADOT’s goal is having every employee, everywhere, solving problems every day, and these grants from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety are helping us do just that for Valley law enforcement officers and other parties who currently face long trips to our courtrooms,” said Rick Rice, the chief administrative law judge who supervises Executive Hearing Office judges and staff.

“Operation of these remote sites will allow law enforcement officers to spend less time traveling to and from hearings to appear as witnesses and ensure that the officers can return to their duties within their jurisdictions sooner,’’ said Alberto Gutier, director of the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

The Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is the focal point for highway safety issues in Arizona. The cabinet agency provides leadership by developing, promoting and coordinating programs; influencing public and private policy; and increasing public awareness of highway safety.

For more information about the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, please visit gohs.az.gov.

For more information about ADOT, please visit azdot.gov.

PHOENIX – A $6 million federal grant will help the Arizona Department of Transportation and partner agencies advance the use of technology to help drivers steer clear of congestion on the 60-mile-long Loop 101 freeway in the Phoenix area.

The project will include development of a Decision Support System to provide Loop 101 drivers with real-time information, including best detour routes, when freeway slowing occurs due to crashes, disabled vehicles or other incidents.

ADOT teamed up with the Maricopa County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), several Valley cities, the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, plus Valley Metro to apply for the Federal Highway Administration grant as part of that agency’s Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment program.

“While ADOT and Maricopa County have already been national leaders in using freeway management technology, this project will allow us to take the next step to inform drivers about traffic conditions and alternate routes,” said ADOT Director John Halikowski. “Improving safety and incident response are also keys to managing congestion and are at the heart of this partnership.”

The federal grant will allow ADOT to work with Maricopa County and other partners on the design of the Loop 101 Mobility Project. Other technologies to be deployed include enhanced traffic signal timing to help move traffic on arterial streets and transit routes when the freeway is congested.

The development of a mobile app will improve data exchange between the regional transportation network and the travelers who use it. Transit vehicles also will be outfitted with connected vehicle technology to improve accessibility to destinations while helping people, including senior citizens, who depend on transit services.

“As Maricopa County grows, technology plays an increasingly important role in keeping people and products on the move,” MCDOT Director Jennifer Toth said. “This project will demonstrate how technology innovation can not only improve everyday driving but also improve how we manage congestion when our region hosts major events like the Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four, Phoenix Open golf and Cactus League baseball.”

The Federal Highway Administration’s Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies program funds cutting-edge technologies that are ready to be deployed to enhance existing traffic capacity for commuters and businesses.

“Technology is the future of U.S. transportation,” said Acting Federal Highway Administrator Brandye L. Hendrickson. “Innovations like this one are the future of congestion management for America’s highway system and deserve this important recognition.”

ADOT and its partners also have identified $27 million in existing project funding that, when combined with the $6 million federal grant, will pay for designing and installing the Loop 101 Mobility Project within the next four years.

PHOENIX – Pilot projects using technology to make highway work zones safer and commercial vehicle inspections at the border more efficient will begin in early 2017 thanks to federal grants recently awarded to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks grants, totaling $581,000, are from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

“These projects will make our work zones safer and improve how efficiently we inspect trucks that bring billions of dollars in commercial goods into our state,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “It’s another way ADOT is making our highways Key Commerce Corridors that improve the quality of life in Arizona by moving products and people.”

A work zone notification system will use emerging vehicle communication technologies to alert commercial drivers that they are approaching construction or incidents on freeways, and also make them aware of variable speed limits, traffic congestion and lane closures.

While the primary goal is reducing crashes and injuries, the pilot project is also designed to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion in work zones.

It’s a joint project involving ADOT, the Maricopa County Department of Transportation and the University of Arizona. One work zone will be chosen on a highway managed by ADOT, while a second work zone will be on Maricopa County 85, which runs from the Agua Fria River in Avondale to State Route 85 near Buckeye.

The $337,000 project will begin in early 2017, with pilot demonstrations in place by August 2018.

The second project will connect separate technologies used by state and federal inspectors at the Mariposa Border Port of Entry in Nogales to allow officers with ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division to make more-informed decisions about which commercial trucks to pull aside for expanded inspections.

Mariposa is Arizona’s busiest commercial port, processing the majority of the $30 billion in imports and exports that cross the Arizona-Mexico international border, including much of America’s winter produce.

Screenings by ADOT and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officers are based primarily on visual inspections of trucks and documents presented to officers in Rapid Enforcement Lanes. The two agencies have separate computer systems with different information about trucks crossing the border. Some trucks cross several times in the same day.

This $224,000 project, expected to be completed by summer 2018, will build an interface that allows state and federal inspectors to share safety and credential information about trucks crossing into Arizona from Mexico. That will allow inspectors from both agencies to make inspection decisions based on more complete information on each truck, trailer, cargo and driver.

The shared information will be available by computer before a truck reaches the inspection booth. Combined with the truck’s weight and historical information from earlier border crossings, ADOT officers can make decisions quickly on whether to pull trucks aside for a closer look or allow them to continue north.

PHOENIX – Arizona is on track to receive a $54 million federal grant helping fund two key widening projects, and adding traffic-management technology that includes a dust storm detection and warning system, along Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson.

Members of Arizona’s congressional delegation have informed the Arizona Department of Transportation that the U.S. Department of Transportation has recommended awarding the FASTLANE grant under a program established by the 2015 FAST Act. This highly competitive program made $800 million in federal funds available to state departments of transportation.

Formal notification of FASTLANE grants is expected after a 60-day congressional review period.

“This is a major step forward as ADOT continually works to improve the I-10 corridor between Phoenix and Tucson,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “This corridor carries as many as 120,000 vehicles per day, and about 30 percent of those vehicles are trucks. It’s a highway that is vital to freight traffic and the need to keep Arizona competitive by accommodating daily business and travel needs.”

The anticipated award is for three projects on I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson:

• Realigning and widening four miles in the Picacho area to three lanes in each direction while reconstructing the interchange with State Route 87.
• Widening four miles between Interstate 8 and Earley Road to three lanes in each direction while upgrading ramps at Jimmie Kerr Boulevard near Casa Grande.
• Making technology enhancements to improve traffic management and safety, including remote sensors to provide early warning of approaching dust.

The total cost of the I-10 improvement projects is $157.5 million. ADOT will provide $103.5 million of that amount.

The U.S. Department of Transportation evaluated 212 applications from states requesting a total of $9.8 billion for transportation projects, more than 10 times the available funding.

The two I-10 widening projects in the FASTLANE grant are included in ADOT’s 2017-2021 Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program, which the State Transportation Board adopted in June. These two projects were accelerated from ADOT’s six-to-10-year development program due to additional funding through the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act.

The 2017 budget signed by Governor Ducey included $30 million toward the I-10 widening projects, money that will be used as part of ADOT’s matching funds.

“We appreciate Governor Ducey and the members of the Arizona Legislature for supporting critical transportation projects in the state,” Halikowski said. “As one of Arizona’s Key Commerce Corridors, I-10 is an important route for travelers, commerce and international trade. This combination of state and federal funding will be a tremendous help to modernizing the highway.”

Once the two I-10 widening projects are complete, ADOT will have reached its goal of widening the entire stretch of I-10 between Casa Grande and Tucson to a six-lane divided highway.

PHOENIX ‒ Improving traffic flow and safety on Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson. Helping commerce move on a state route between the border and Interstate 19 in Nogales. Rehabilitating an 850-foot-long bridge along Interstate 15 in northwestern Arizona.

Aiming to move forward sooner on those goals, the Arizona Department of Transportation is seeking $109.5 million through two highly competitive federal grant programs.

With $800 million available through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s FASTLANE grant program, established under the 2015 FAST Act, ADOT has applied for $60 million and offered to provide $86.83 million in matching funds to be used in four ways along I-10 between the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas:

• Realigning and widening four miles in the Picacho area to three lanes in each direction while reconstructing the interchange with State Route 87.
• Widening four miles between Earley Road and Interstate 8 to three lanes in each direction while upgrading ramps at Jimmie Kerr Boulevard near Casa Grande.
• Making technology enhancements to improve traffic management and safety, including remote sensors to provide early warning of approaching dust.
• Conducting preliminary engineering and completing an environmental analysis for widening 27 miles of I-10 to three lanes in each direction between the Loop 202 Santan Freeway and approximately SR 387 in Casa Grande. Any plan to widen I-10 through the Gila River Indian Community would require an agreement with the tribal government.

“The impact of Interstate 10 on Arizona’s citizens and economy is huge. Improvements to this vital link between Phoenix and Tucson are critical to our quality of life,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “Each element of the FASTLANE grant proposal will advance these efforts to continue improving I-10 and significantly benefit motorists and the flow of commerce.”

Meanwhile, ADOT has submitted Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant proposals for two projects:

• $25 million, with a proposed $39 million state match, to improve the 3.75-mile State Route 189 (Mariposa Road) in Nogales. Proposed upgrades to the route, which connects the Mariposa Port of Entry with Interstate 19 and Interstate Business 19/Grand Avenue, include a raised median and improving ramps connecting with I-19.
• $24.5 million, with a proposed $10.5 million state match, to rehabilitate Virgin River Bridge No. 1 on Interstate 15. Built in 1964 and located just east of Littlefield in the far northwestern corner of Arizona, the bridge has never undergone a major rehabilitation.

Both TIGER grant projects and the two I-10 construction projects in the FASTLANE grant are already part of ADOT’s plans, both through its current construction program and the Tentative Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program that’s receiving public input and awaiting a vote by the State Transportation Board.

For Virgin River Bridge No. 1, $33 million in construction funding is programmed for fiscal 2019. For SR 189, ADOT has recommended $64 million in fiscal 2021 for construction. For the I-10 projects, ADOT has recommended $85 million in fiscal 2018 for the Picacho area and $40 million in fiscal 2019 for Earley Road to I-8.

Winning grants would allow these projects to move forward faster and enable ADOT to redirect money toward other pressing needs.

“There are no guarantees when it comes to competitive grants, but success pays big dividends for Arizona,” Halikowski said.

Since 2012, ADOT has received a total of $43.6 million through 15 competitive grants, most of them administered by U.S. DOT. Much of that amount comes from TIGER grants for a planned railroad overpass on State Route 347 in Maricopa and the ongoing reconstruction of Virgin River Bridge No. 6 on I-15.

There will be plenty of competition from other states for FASTLANE and TIGER grants. For fiscal 2015, when ADOT won a $15 million grant toward the SR 347 project, U.S. DOT received 627 eligible applications worth $10.1 billion for the $500 million available. About $500 million is available in the current round of TIGER grants.

U.S. DOT is expected to announce awards from both grant programs later this year.

PHOENIX ‒ An upgrade to high-efficiency LED lighting in a US 60 tunnel east of the Phoenix area. A long-sought bridge to carry SR 347 over railroad tracks in Maricopa. Innovative monitoring technology transmitting real-time data on the structural health of four remote interstate bridges.

Facing limited transportation funding, the Arizona Department of Transportation has been able to move forward with these and other projects benefiting the state because of its success in seeking competitive grants.

Since 2012, ADOT has received a total of $43.6 million through 15 competitive grants, most of them administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Much of that amount comes from two grants awarded through USDOT’s highly competitive Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program:

• In 2012, $21.6 million toward reconstruction of Virgin River Bridge No. 6 along Interstate 15 in far northwest Arizona, the largest amount awarded in this round of TIGER grants. ADOT’s competition: 703 total applications worth $10.2 billion for about $500 million in available grant funding.

• In 2015, $15 million toward construction of a railroad overpass on State Route 347, the only direct route between the city of Maricopa and metro Phoenix. With about $500 million available for this round of TIGER grants, USDOT received 627 eligible applications worth $10.1 billion.

“Advancing and protecting Arizona’s transportation system in the current funding environment calls for innovative approaches,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “Our track record of success on competitive grants has helped create value beyond funding available through traditional sources.”

Winning Federal Highway Administration Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration grants, intended to speed adoption of innovation, helped fund these ADOT projects:

• $1 million toward adding energy-efficient, longer-lasting LED lighting to the Queen Creek Tunnel along US 60 between Globe and Superior.
• $1 million toward construction of a Mohave County bridge along Old Route 66/Oatman Highway using prefabricated bridge elements that expedite the project and minimize the length of road closures. ADOT is administering design and construction for the county.
• $768,000 toward adding structural health monitoring systems to four I-15 bridges, allowing ADOT engineers in Phoenix to get real-time data on their conditions, identify and address problems quickly and decide when the bridges will need major repairs or replacement.

Many of the grants require a state match. For the $43.6 million in grants received since 2012, Arizona provided $49.8 million in matching funds.

George Delgado, who became ADOT grants administrator in 2012, said keys to success include staying on top of what’s available through grants.gov and the Federal Register and matching a competitive grant opportunity with a project that addresses a compelling need and presents clear economic benefits locally and statewide.

“Most important is a commitment throughout this agency to being nimble and decisive when it comes to grants,” Delgado said. “The high level of collaboration we have throughout ADOT allows us connect the right projects with the right grant opportunities.”

PHOENIX – Grants from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety are enabling the Arizona Department of Transportation to improve collection of crash data from law enforcement agencies around the state.

Grants of $508,600 for federal fiscal year 2015 and $106,000 for federal fiscal year 2016 continue to address what had been a cumbersome process of manually reviewing volumes of documents received and then entering them in a database. ADOT is responsible under state law for compiling crash data and creating comprehensive reports from it that government agencies, nonprofit groups and other entities statewide use to improve traffic safety.

The grant funding is allowing ADOT to help more agencies make use of an online system for submitting crash data.

“The grant awards received from the GOHS supports ADOT’s initiative to improve the process of collecting crash data,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “ADOT is proud to be at the forefront through the use of technology to process the crash data received from reporting law enforcement agencies and create vital reports that become the source for making Arizona streets and highways safer.”

The first grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety directly supports work performed by the ADOT Traffic Records Unit to develop reports from the crash data. The second further supports the agency’s electronic reporting efforts.

“Being partners with ADOT and other agencies in state government produces results that can be used to coordinate highway safety programs throughout Arizona and is a model of cooperation in this administration,” said Alberto Gutier, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

The Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is the focal point for highway safety issues in Arizona. The cabinet agency provides leadership by developing, promoting and coordinating programs; influencing public and private policy; and increasing public awareness of highway safety.

For more information about the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, please visit: https://gohs.az.gov/.

PHOENIX — In an effort to stay competitive in the global market, the Arizona Department of Transportation is seeking nearly $70 million in federal discretionary grants for projects that will drive Arizona’s economy, while promoting interstate commerce and trade with Mexico.

ADOT submitted three federal grant applications in the sixth round of the federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants last week. All three critical projects would create a substantial number of jobs for Arizonans, while ensuring Arizona remains a vital trading corridor with its port neighbors to the west (Long Beach and Los Angeles) and the south (Mexico).

ADOT is seeking $35 million for a rural/urban highway planning grant for the Interstate 11 and Intermountain West Corridor Study Environmental Impact Statement, which would facilitate the necessary environmental assessments for this Key Commerce Corridor — a corridor that is expected to bring enormous economic and safety benefits for Arizona’s communities, tourists and commerce connections.

Other 2014 projects for TIGER grant consideration include $24.5 million to rehabilitate a bridge approaching the Virgin River Gorge on Interstate 15 in Mohave County in the northwest corner of Arizona between the Nevada and Utah state lines. While most Arizonans have never driven on this remote stretch of highway, I-15 is critical to California, Nevada and Utah as a freight corridor.

ADOT also submitted a $9.5 million grant to improve Arizona-California border crossing times at the Ehrenberg Port of Entry on Interstate 10 in La Paz County. The upgraded port of entry will ensure safer travel on state roadways through enforcement of state and federal size, weight and safety regulations for commercial vehicles.

Since 2009, Congress has dedicated more than $4.1 billion in TIGER grant funding for road, rail, transit and port projects, including $600 million for the current fiscal year, which is available to all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

During the first five rounds of the TIGER program, which began in 2009, Arizona has received funding for three projects.

In 2013, the Port of Tucson received a $5 million grant in the fifth round of TIGER funding to provide higher speed access between the Union Pacific mainline and the Port of Tucson’s International Intermodal yard.

In 2012, ADOT successfully secured a $21.6 million grant to improve Virgin River Gorge Bridge No. 6 on I-15 (milepost 16) in the fourth round of TIGER funding. That rehabilitation project is the first of the eight bridges along the I-15 corridor that has been identified for repair. The $27 million project launched this spring and is slated to take up to two years to complete.

In 2010, the Tucson won federal funding for a $63 million modern streetcar project during the first round of TIGER grants.

The following are the projects that ADOT submitted for TIGER grant consideration this year:

• I-11 and Intermountain West Corridor Study ($35 million grant; total cost $60 million): Although the Corridor Concept Report is expected to be released this summer to finalize the purpose and need, corridor recommendations and implementation requirements for the I-11 and Intermountain West Corridor, no funding sources have been identified for carrying out the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, including an Environmental Impact Statement. ADOT is seeking TIGER grant funding to develop the environmental document for this critical corridor that would run from border to border in Arizona. The environmental report would analyze potential infrastructure investments along the I‑11 and Intermountain West Corridor in Arizona to improve north-to-south mobility in the state, enhance trade corridors, and connect rural communities to jobs, schools and employment centers. The corridor would be more than 400 miles long, passing through rural and urban areas of Arizona.

• I-15 Virgin River Bridge No. 1 ($24.5 million grant; total cost $35 million): This I-15 bridge (milepost 10) is located in the Virgin River Gorge and serves as a vital link between the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and beyond. The bridge, built in 1964, is rated as “structurally deficient,” meaning it is safe, but requires repair or improvement. While most Arizonans have never driven on this remote 29-mile stretch of highway, it is a critical commercial trade route in North America used by more than 1.4 million trucks annually. Closures or even restrictions to this route would result in detours of 250 miles for heavier trucks, and nearly 600 miles for the triple-trailer combinations. The rehabilitation project would include the replacement of the bridge’s superstructure (girders, deck and railings), as well as widening the narrow roadway.

• I-10/Ehrenberg Port of Entry Improvements, Phase II ($9.5 million grant; total cost $13.6 million): The project would reconstruct the facility, which was built in 1976, and provide an effective electronic screening system to better facilitate the safe movement of commercial truck traffic into Arizona. The port of entry is located in western Arizona along I-10, approximately three miles from the California state line. As one of the nation’s primary transportation corridors, I-10 provides a safe and expeditious route for commercial truck traffic to deliver goods from international sea ports in Southern California to Arizona and across the nation. The project is being built in two phases. The first phase is expected to start late this year.

TIGER grants are awarded to transportation projects that have a significant national or regional impact. Projects are chosen for their ability to contribute to the long-term economic competitiveness of the nation, improve the condition of existing transportation facilities and systems, increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve the safety of U.S. transportation facilities, and enhance the quality of living and working environments of communities through increased transportation choices and connections. The U.S. Department of Transportation gives priority to projects that are expected to create and preserve jobs and stimulate increases in economic activity.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is expected to announce the recipients of the Fiscal Year 2014 TIGER grants later this year.