PHOENIX ‒ Widening the last two stretches of Interstate 10 between Casa Grande and Tucson that remain two lanes in each direction. Opening a modern Ina Road traffic interchange with Interstate 10 in Marana. Launching a major upgrade to State Route 189, the 3.75-mile Nogales highway essential to trade with Mexico.

These are just some of the Arizona Department of Transportation projects finishing or starting in 2019 that are designed to make travel safer and more efficient in southern Arizona.

Four major projects that received a great deal of attention in 2018 are scheduled for completion this year:

• 
  A new I-10 interchange is on track to open this spring carrying Ina Road traffic over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and greatly improving mobility and safety in a growing area northwest of Tucson. This $128 million project also is widening Ina Road to two lanes in each direction from I-10 west over new bridges crossing the Santa Cruz River, with full project completion expected this summer.
• Crews will finish widening 4 miles of I-10 in Casa Grande between Earley Road and Interstate 8. This $43 million project, scheduled for completion by late summer, includes replacing the original bridges over Jimmie Kerr Boulevard to accommodate three lanes in each direction.
• Between Eloy and Picacho, crews are scheduled to complete a $72 million project widening 4 miles of I-10 to three lanes in each direction by creating new travel lanes. The improvements include a new State Route 87 interchange and a first-of-its-kind dust detection zone on 10 miles of I-10 to provide drivers with crucial safety information during dust storms. Completion is scheduled for late summer.
• A $55 million overpass that will carry State Route 347 traffic over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks in Maricopa is scheduled for completion by the end of 2019.

Design work is set to begin by June on the largest project of 2019: a $134 million upgrade of State Route 189, which connects the Mariposa Port of Entry with Interstate 19 in Nogales and carries a large share of produce entering the United States. Planned upgrades include flyover ramps to make a smoother transition between SR 189 and I-19 and a bridge over Frank Reed Road that will improve safety near Nogales High School. The two-year project is expected to be completed in 2021.

In Tucson, construction is scheduled begin this summer on a new interchange at I-10 at Ruthrauff Road. The $101 million, two-year project will be similar to interchange improvements at Ina and Prince roads.

Other major projects expected to begin in 2019 include replacing the 70-year-old Pinto Creek Bridge on US 60 east of Superior and repaving a 7-mile section of State Route 95 north of Parker. Bidding for the Pinto Creek work will take place early this year, while paving on SR 95 began earlier this month and is expected to continue until fall.

For more information on these projects, please visit azdot.gov/projects.

PHOENIX ‒ Arizona Department of Transportation crews have closed three Interstate 10 ramps in the area of a widening project in Casa Grande for the safety of drivers and work crews.

The ramps that will remain closed until the project is complete in late summer 2019 are:

• Eastbound Interstate 8 to westbound I-10.
• The eastbound I-10 on-ramp at Jimmie Kerr Boulevard.
• The westbound off-ramp at Jimmie Kerr Boulevard.

All three ramps are in the area where ADOT crews are widening I-10 to six lanes between Earley Road and I-8 (milepost 196-200).

Traffic on eastbound I-8 should take westbound I-10 to the next exit at Sunland Gin Road (exit 200), exit and enter eastbound I-10 at Sunland Gin Road. 

Drivers wishing to enter eastbound I-10 at Jimmie Kerr Boulevard should follow Jimmie Kerr Boulevard south to Sunland Gin Road, then go west to reach I-10.  Westbound I-10 drivers can exit at Sunland Gin Road and then go north to Jimmie Kerr Boulevard, or exit at Florence Boulevard (SR 287, edit 194), re-enter I-10 eastbound and exit at Jimmie Kerr Boulevard.

Traffic on I-10 was recently switched to new lanes and new bridges over Jimmie Kerr Boulevard as work continues on the project. The original bridges over Jimmie Kerr Boulevard are being removed and crews soon will begin work to add additional lanes and shoulders to the new bridges.

Along with a second widening project in Eloy, the work will make I-10 a six-lane freeway from Casa Grande to Tucson.

PHOENIX ‒ Almost as soon as traffic on eastbound Interstate 10 started using new lanes through 4 miles of Pinal County between Eloy and Picacho this week, Arizona Department of Transportation crews began demolishing travel lanes that had been in use for more than 40 years. The same occurred in December when westbound traffic moved to new lanes.

But instead of finding a place to discard the old asphalt, concrete and dirt, ADOT engineers are using it to create the foundation for the new eastbound lanes that are now under construction.

“We need to build up the ground under the new eastbound lanes of I-10,” said Dave Locher, ADOT’s regional engineer and project manager. “Usually we have to haul material in from some off-site location, which can be expensive. But in this case the better answer was literally right in front of us.”

About 1 million square feet of asphalt, tons of earth from below the roadway surface and 30,000 feet of guardrail will be removed from the old lanes of I-10. Guardrail in good condition will be sent to maintenance yards around Arizona for use in other projects. The rest of the material will be moved 100-150 yards east to the new eastbound alignment.

In many large projects, crews create a “borrow pit” when they need additional dirt. The pit usually is located near the project, in a site where removing earth doesn’t create additional environmental or economic concerns. Hauling that extra dirt adds time and money to the project.

ADOT is expanding I-10 to six lanes between mileposts 209 and 213, as well as building a new interchange with State Route 87 and creating a first-of-its-kind dust detection zone in the area north of Picacho Peak. The new alignment is just east of the current freeway.

Along with a second widening project in Casa Grande, the work will make I-10 a six-lane freeway from Casa Grande to Tucson. Both projects are expected to be complete by fall 2019.

PHOENIX – Tucson-area drivers can expect minor overnight delays on eastbound Interstate 10 beginning this weekend as crews remove the unraveling surface asphalt layer between Ruthrauff Road and Miracle Mile (State Route 77).

Work will begin Saturday, Jan. 12, and is expected to be completed by Saturday, Jan. 19. Lane restrictions will be in place from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. until the work is complete.

Eastbound I-10 will remain open throughout the work, as will the eastbound frontage road.

With the top asphalt layer milled off, this stretch of I-10 will have a concrete surface while the Arizona Department of Transportation evaluates longer-term options. Concrete pavement is common throughout the state highway system and is as safe to drive on as the rubberized asphalt being removed from the eastbound lanes.

PHOENIX – New westbound Interstate 10 lanes at Ina Road in Marana will open to traffic this weekend, another step forward for a two-year project improving traffic flow and safety at the busy interchange.

For most of the past year, both directions of I-10 between Orange Grove and Cortaro roads have been sharing the future eastbound lanes, separated by concrete barrier, as the Arizona Department of Transportation creates a modern Ina Road interchange to serve the growing area. I-10 will remain three lanes in each direction after the shift.

On westbound I-10, the right two lanes will be closed near Ina Road beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, to allow crews to move barricades and open the new travel lanes. The work is expected to be complete before 5 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 9.

The $128 million Ina Road interchange project, which began in late February 2017, is creating new bridges carrying Ina Road over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, eliminating the need for drivers to stop for the many trains that pass each day. Ina Road will be widened to two lanes in each direction from I-10 west over new bridges crossing the Santa Cruz River.

ADOT is overseeing the improvements, which are 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 Santa Cruz River bridges west of I-10.

The work is part of an ongoing effort to improve traffic interchanges on I-10 throughout the Tucson area. Similar improvements at the Ruthrauff Road interchange are scheduled to begin in summer 2019.