PHOENIX – Drivers who normally would use the westbound Interstate 10 exit ramp at 43rd Avenue should plan on using an alternate route until late September.

The westbound I-10 off-ramp at 43rd Avenue closed this week for an ongoing Arizona Department of Transportation project to add another lane along the freeway. 

Drivers should plan to use alternate routes, including exiting at 51st Avenue, while the westbound off-ramp at43rd Avenue is closed through the summer.

For updates about freeway conditions and restrictions visit ADOT’s Travel Information site at az511.gov or call 511.

ADOT plans and constructs new freeways, additional lanes and other improvements as part of the Regional Transportation Plan for the Maricopa County region. The primary funding source for regional freeway improvements is a half-cent sales tax approved by county voters in 2004. More information about ADOT projects and the regional plan is available at azdot.gov/projects.

PHOENIX ‒ Drivers on Interstate 10 and Jimmie Kerr Boulevard in Casa Grande should watch for overnight restrictions and possible delays over the next two weeks as Arizona Department of Transportation crews place girders for new I-10 bridges over Jimmie Kerr Boulevard.

Work is scheduled to begin Tuesday night, April 30, and continue until about Thursday, May 9. Restrictions will be in place from 8 p.m. each night until 6 a.m. the following morning.

Two new two-lane bridges carrying I-10 traffic opened in January. Crews are now working on additions to those bridges to accommodate a third lane and a shoulder in each direction.

I-10 will remain open throughout the work, with lane restrictions planned near Jimmie Kerr Boulevard (milepost 198). Drivers should watch for signs to indicate which lane is closed.

Jimmie Kerr Boulevard will be closed occasionally at I-10 during the work. Westbound drivers can enter westbound I-10 at Jimmie Kerr Boulevard, exit at Florence Boulevard, then take I-10 eastbound to the Jimmie Kerr Boulevard exit. Eastbound drivers take Trekell Road south to I-8, then go east to I-10 and exit at Sunland Gun Road (exit 200).

ADOT is widening a 4-mile section of I-10 from Earley Road to east of Interstate 8 (milepost 196-200). The project is expected to be complete by late summer.

Along with a similar project widening a 4-mile section of I-10 near Eloy, the work will create a six-lane freeway from Casa Grande through Tucson. The second project, which includes an innovative dust detection zone, is scheduled for completion by early fall.

PHOENIX – Motorists traveling from the West Valley toward downtown Phoenix this weekend should allow extra travel time and plan ahead to avoid a closure of eastbound Interstate 10 (Papago Freeway) between 67th and 51st avenues due to construction of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Eastbound I-10 will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday, April 26, to 4 a.m. Monday, April 29, in west Phoenix.

To avoid delays on eastbound I-10, motorists should consider alternate routes, including the Loop 101 (Agua Fria Freeway) west of Interstate 17, or exiting I-10 sooner and taking local streets to re-enter past the closure point.

The closure will allow two large cranes to safely set 21 concrete beams over the eastbound I-10 travel lanes that will support the HOV flyover bridges connecting I-10 with the South Mountain Freeway.

Eastbound I-10 traffic can exit at 67th Avenue and detour either to the eastbound I-10 access road or McDowell Road before re-entering the freeway at 51st Avenue; however, heavy delays are likely. In addition, the eastbound I-10 on-ramps at 91st, 83rd, 79th and 75th avenues will be closed to help reduce traffic backups.

In addition, a portion of 59th Avenue will be closed in both directions between McDowell Road and Roosevelt Street from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28 to paint one of the flyover bridges.

The 22-mile South Mountain Freeway is scheduled for full completion in 2020, although traffic is expected to be using the freeway earlier. It will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to I-10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, the South Mountain Freeway will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley.

For information on the project, visit SouthMountainFreeway.com.

PHOENIX ‒ The eastbound on-ramp to Interstate 10 at State Route 87 will close for seven weeks on Monday, April 29, allowing Arizona Department of Transportation crews to take important steps toward completion of the project to widen I-10 north of Picacho Peak.

By the time a new on-ramp opens in mid-June, it is expected to connect with new eastbound lanes. When those new lanes open, also in June, I-10 will be a six-lane freeway from milepost 209 to 213.

During the closure, drivers can reach eastbound I-10 by taking westbound I-10 to Sunshine Boulevard (exit 208), then entering eastbound I-10.

Crews also are about to begin work on components of an innovative dust-detection zone in a 10-mile area from Eloy to Picacho Peak. Initial work includes installing foundations for electronic message boards that will provide safety information to drivers during dusty conditions. Crews also will install about 10 miles of fiber-optic cable that will connect radar and other equipment in the area from milepost 209-219.

The dust detection zone also will include short- and long-range radar to identify blowing dust in the area, electronic message boards to get information to drivers, variable speed limits to slow drivers during potentially dangerous conditions and closed-circuit cameras to allow ADOT’s Traffic Operations Center to see conditions in real time.

Work is expected to be complete this fall. Combined with a related project widening 4 miles of I-10 in Casa Grande, the work will create a six-lane freeway from Casa Grande to Tucson. Work on the Casa Grande project is expected to be completed by late summer.

PHOENIX ‒ Ramps connecting Ina Road with Interstate 10 in Marana have opened to traffic, completing the Arizona Department of Transportation’s renovation of a vital interchange in northwest Pima County.

The new, larger interchange and associated improvements reduce congestion in a growing area while improving safety by eliminating the need for drivers on Ina Road to wait for passing trains many times each day.

Although the ramps are open, crews must complete final elements of the project. Lane restrictions are scheduled to continue for the next several weeks.

Work continues to widen Ina Road from I-10 west to the Santa Cruz River and connect the wider road to a new westbound bridge over the river. That part of the project is expected to be complete by June.

ADOT crews opened Ina Road over I-10 on March 15. Crews have worked since then to complete the ramps and put down new pavement along Ina Road and adjacent streets.

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

This is the third I-10 interchange in the area to be renovated in recent years. At Ina Road as well as Prince Road and Twin Peaks, crews replaced underpasses at I-10 with bridges carrying traffic over the interstate and Union Pacific Railroad tracks. Construction is expected to begin this fall on a similar effort, at Ruthrauff Road.

PHOENIX – Girders are about to be set in place on the new bridge carrying westbound Interstate 10 over Jimmie Kerr Boulevard in Casa Grande, another important step in the project to widen a 4-mile section of the freeway.

Westbound I-10 will be reduced to one lane just north of Interstate 8 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning on Monday, April 8, and continuing until Sunday morning, April 14. Jimmie Kerr Boulevard will be closed at I-10 during those times.

During the work, drivers on I-10 should slow down and expect minor delays. Drivers on eastbound Jimmie Kerr Boulevard can use Trekel Road to eastbound I-8 to Sunland Gin Road. Drivers on westbound Jimmie Kerr Boulevard can use the on-ramp to westbound I-10 and travel to Exit 194 (Florence Boulevard), then follow eastbound I-10 back to Jimmie Kerr Boulevard.

Traffic was moved to new bridges over Jimmie Kerr in January, with two lanes in each direction. The new bridges will allow for a third lane and a shoulder in each direction. Over the next three months crews will pour the concrete deck for the new bridge and pave new lanes. The project is scheduled for completion in late August.

The work is part of an effort to widen a 4-mile section of I-10 from near Earley Road (milepost 196) to I-8 (milepost 200). Along with a similar project near Eloy, the work will create a 6-lane freeway from Casa Grande through Tucson.

PHOENIX – A westbound Interstate 10 access road created to complement a Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway interchange will close temporarily between 59th and 67th avenues starting Monday, April 1, to allow for final construction.

During the closure, which extends to May, crews will complete the access road connections to 59th and 67th avenues and make other improvements including new drainage, curb and gutter, sidewalks and traffic signals. A temporary road surface near 59th Avenue will be removed and replaced with permanent pavement.

Motorists should consider alternate routes, including local streets, to reach destinations near 59th and 67th avenues.

In 2018, the Arizona Department of Transportation and Connect 202 Partners, the developer of the South Mountain Freeway, opened new eastbound and westbound I-10 access roads between 51st and 67th avenues to restore access to 59th Avenue. South Mountain Freeway construction required permanently removing I-10 on- and off-ramps at 59th Avenue to make room for the freeway-to-freeway interchange.

The 22-mile South Mountain Freeway is scheduled for full completion in 2020, although traffic is expected to be using the freeway earlier. It will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to I-10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, the South Mountain Freeway will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley.

For information on the project, visit SouthMountainFreeway.com.