PICACHO – Crews will begin clearing ground near Interstate 10 south of Eloy this week as the Arizona Department of Transportation takes the first step in a project that will realign and widen 4 miles to three lanes in each direction.

The project also will create a first-in-in-the-nation pilot dust detection and warning zone designed to alert drivers to dangerous conditions in an area prone to blowing dust.

“This project includes two elements that will enhance safety for those using this busy section of Interstate 10,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “The innovative dust detection project will provide drivers with fast information when conditions warrant. Adding a lane in each direction of I-10 will allow traffic to move more smoothly in this Key Commerce Corridor.”

The project includes widening I-10 from milepost 209 to 213, realigning the freeway to remove an “S” curve and building a new interchange with State Route 87. The clearing that starts this week is for work that will shift I-10 to a straighter path about 500 feet north of its current alignment.

The work is funded in part by a $54 million federal FASTLANE grant, which also will help pay for a second I-10 widening project on 4 miles north of Interstate 8. Bids for the second widening project are expected to be opened on Friday, Dec. 8. When both are complete, I-10 will be three lanes in each direction between Casa Grande and the Tucson area.

Coffman Specialties won a $58.4 million contract for the first project, which is expected to be completed in fall 2019.

The dust detection zone planned between mileposts 209 and 219 will combine a number of existing technologies, including:

   * Two types of radar to detect blowing dust along the freeway and in the distance approaching I-10. Short-range detectors will be located every mile, as well as at half-mile increments in the center of the area. The long-range detector will be located at the north end of the area, away from Newman and Picacho peaks.

  * Variable speed limits to slow drivers. Speed limits, which are enforceable, will slow drivers from 75 mph to 35 mph, dropping 10 mph for each 1,000 feet to allow drivers time to safely reduce their speed.

  * Closed-circuit freeway cameras so ADOT traffic operators in Phoenix can view the situation in real time.

  * Electronic message boards to relay information about conditions.

Dust storms, most common during the summer monsoons, can occur year-round in desert areas. Localized winds can create dust channels that severely reduce visibility in a small area.

MARANA – Over the next three months, drivers in northwestern Pima County will see important advances as the two-year Interstate 10/Ina Road traffic interchange project moves on schedule toward the halfway point.

With pavement now in place for what will become the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 at Ina Road, crews will begin steps to move traffic to those new lanes so work can begin on the westbound lanes of I-10.

The first step: pouring concrete for the bridge decks that will carry Ina Road over Interstate 10 and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. Supports for the bridges have been put in place over the past few months. The deck pour is scheduled to begin about 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Crews will pour the deck only for the western half of the bridge that will cross above the new eastbound lanes of I-10. That will avoid requiring any restrictions on I-10 traffic during the work.

All I-10 traffic will be moved to the new eastbound lanes so work can begin on the westbound side of the freeway. Eastbound traffic will move to the new pavement in mid-December, with westbound traffic moving to the new pavement about a month later. Three lanes will be maintained in each direction until the project is complete in early 2019.

When the work is finished, I-10 will include four lanes in each direction, an addition of one lane each way.

In late December, Ina Road traffic west of the freeway will be moved to the new bridge over the Santa Cruz River. That will allow ADOT crews to remove the existing bridge and replace it with a new two-lane bridge that eventually will carry westbound traffic on Ina Road.

The Ina Road project is designed to improve traffic flow and driver safety in Marana and the surrounding community. The new Ina Road bridge at I-10 will allow drivers to travel without delays for passing trains. Completion is scheduled for early 2019.

ADOT is overseeing the $128 million project, which is 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 bridges over the Santa Cruz River west of I-10.

PHOENIX ‒ The Sacaton Rest Area on Interstate 10 south of the Phoenix area is scheduled to close Wednesday, Oct. 18, for a $4 million renovation that’s expected to take six months, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Work planned for the rest area, located on both westbound and eastbound I-10 between Casa Blanca Road and State Route 387 near Casa Grande, includes upgrades to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, replacing a water line, replacing the septic tanks and sewer lines, upgrading the electrical and mechanical systems, and painting.

During the closure, the nearest traveler facilities will be in the Phoenix and Casa Grande areas and on the Gila River Indian Community.

ADOT has made improvements to rest areas in recent years to repair and replace infrastructure that has been in place for as long as 50 years. That includes drilling new wells to provide adequate water supplies and replacing septic systems.

The Canoa Ranch Rest Area on Interstate 19 is scheduled for renovations in spring 2018. Improvements at the Meteor Crater and Painted Cliffs rest areas on Interstate 40 are scheduled in 2019, and at the Mazatzal Rest Area on State Route 87 south of Payson in 2020. The Mohawk Rest Area on Interstate 8 near Dateland reopened recently after a $4.6 million renovation.

GOODYEAR – Major work on the freeway interchange connecting Interstate 10 and Loop 303 in the West Valley has been completed.

The Arizona Department of Transportation has now opened all four of the new ramps that allow drivers to make direct connections between I-10 and Loop 303. Three ramps were opened to traffic Sunday night, Oct. 8. Construction crews on Monday opened the fourth ramp, which connects westbound I-10 to southbound Loop 303.

A new section of Loop 303 traveling under I-10 between Thomas Road and Van Buren Street in Goodyear also is open to traffic.

The new connections are part of ADOT’s $64 million project to build the second phase, or “south half,” of the large interchange connecting I-10 and Loop 303. Construction on the project started in Feb. 2016.

“Our goal will always focus on improving mobility across the Phoenix region and Arizona,” said ADOT Director John Halikowski. “These new connections provide new options for many West Valley drivers as we look forward to other future freeway improvements that save travel time and help the region manage growing traffic needs.”

Completing the new I-10/Loop 303 ramps sets the stage for a next project to extend Loop 303 south from Van Buren Street to Maricopa County Highway 85. Construction of that project is scheduled to start in fall 2019.

“This interchange continues to play a key role in economic development plans for Goodyear and other West Valley communities,” said Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord. “As a gateway to our city, it will provide for the efficient flow of people, goods and services for decades to come.”

The three new ramps that opened Sunday night provide connections from northbound Loop 303 to east- and westbound I-10 and from eastbound I-10 to southbound Loop 303. 

The I-10/Loop 303 south half project is funded as part of the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Regional Transportation Plan approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004. The primary funding sources are a countywide half-cent sales tax for transportation projects as well as the Phoenix region’s share of federal transportation funds.

The north half of the I-10/Loop 303 interchange opened to traffic in August 2014.

MARANA – Six months in, signs of progress abound at an Arizona Department of Transportation project creating a modern traffic interchange at Ina Road and Interstate 10 and more efficient traffic flow through a growing area.

Crews recently poured concrete to create a deck for the first of two new bridges carrying Ina Road over the Santa Cruz River just west of I-10.

With supports in place on the west side of I-10, drivers soon will see the first girders set for a bridge that will carry Ina Road over Interstate 10 and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. The former interchange configuration had local traffic passing under I-10 and waiting as several dozen trains crossed Ina Road each day.

“Those are important milestones in this project,” said Dan Casmer, ADOT’s resident engineer for the project. “Our teams have done a great job staying on schedule despite the extreme heat earlier this summer and the heavy monsoon rains.”

Crews are now more than halfway toward completing work on the west side of I-10, which also includes building new lanes for eastbound I-10 and laying a new frontage road. To allow this work, eastbound I-10 traffic has shifted to the former westbound lanes, and westbound I-10 traffic is using what had been the westbound frontage road.

Beginning in early 2018, crews will move to the east side of the freeway. They will remove the remaining I-10 bridge, create new freeway lanes and a new frontage road and complete the Ina Road bridge. Drivers already can see rebar towers that will become bridge supports on the east side of I-10.

At the same time, crews will move traffic to the new bridge over the Santa Cruz River, remove the existing bridge and build a new one in its place.

When work is complete in early 2019, both I-10 and Ina Road will be wider to handle increasing traffic in the area, capacity on the Santa Cruz River bridges will double and drivers no longer will have to wait for trains that run east of I-10.

ADOT is overseeing the $128 million project, which is 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 bridges over the Santa Cruz River west of I-10.

Ina Road is closed at I-10, but ADOT will continue to maintain access to area businesses throughout the project.

Eastbound I-10 drivers can use the Cortaro or Orange Grove exits. For westbound drivers, the Orange Grove exit remains closed, and drivers should consider exiting at Sunset or Cortaro roads.

GOODYEAR – Crews working to build the last phase of the Loop 303/Interstate 10 traffic interchange in Goodyear have reached another milestone.

New stretches of separate north- and southbound Loop 303 frontage roads between McDowell Road and Van Buren Street opened to traffic as scheduled on Saturday, Aug. 19, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Technically, the new frontage roads still represent the stretch of Cotton Lane between McDowell and Van Buren. They now serve local traffic traveling north and south through the area of the larger freeway-to-freeway traffic interchange connecting Loop 303 and I-10.

The Loop 303 “Cotton Lane” frontage roads are located on either side of a new stretch of Loop 303 that’s under construction as part of the $63.5 million project to build the “south half” of the interchange with Interstate 10.

The entire interchange project, including elevated freeway-to-freeway ramps, is scheduled for completion by November. Work on the job started in February 2016.

The Loop 303/I-10 Interchange Final Phase project is part of the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Regional Transportation Plan approved by county voters in 2004. Funding sources include a countywide half-cent sales tax for transportation projects and the Phoenix region’s share of federal highway funds.

PHOENIX – A pavement-improvement project along Interstate 10 between the Gila River Bridge and State Route 587 (Casa Blanca Road) will require overnight lane restrictions and some ramp closures starting Sunday night, Aug. 20, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Drivers should allow extra travel time and consider alternate routes if possible while the following restrictions are in place the week of Aug. 20-25:

• Eastbound I-10 narrowed to one lane near SR 587 from 7 p.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday, Aug. 21 (Eastbound I-10 off-ramp at SR 587 closed).