PHOENIX – Drivers traveling along southbound Interstate 17 during the overnight hours next week should plan for full closures of I-17 at Bumble Bee Road (milepost 248) for work to take down the old Bumble Bee bridge over southbound I-17 as part of the I-17 Improvement Project. 

Travelers should prepare for delays as southbound traffic will be reduced to one lane near Sunset Point (milepost 252) and will continue in one lane as they approach the full closure at Bumble Bee Road. Drivers will then exit and re-enter the highway at Bumble Bee Road, as a bypass detour route is in place. The southbound closures will occur from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. the nights of Monday, Feb. 10, and Tuesday, Feb. 11, and from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. the night of Wednesday, Feb. 12, with work finishing up the morning of Thursday, Feb. 13.

Drivers are urged to slow down, merge safely and follow the established detour route that follows Bumble Bee Road around the bridge work. Traffic will reconnect with southbound I-17 approximately three-quarters of a mile from the Bumble Bee Road exit.

The speed limit along the detour route is 25 mph for the safety of the traveling public and highway crews. Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers are regularly patrolling the I-17 Improvement Project corridor and will be enforcing the speed limit during the nights of the closures. The additional troopers are part of a partnership between ADOT and DPS to increase safety and reduce crashes in the project corridor.

In addition to the three overnight closures of southbound I-17 for the bridge takedown, the northbound I-17 off-ramp at Bumble Bee Road will be closed beginning Feb. 10, through March 21. Bumble Bee Road will also be completely closed to traffic in both directions beginning Feb. 10, through March 21, for ongoing work in the area. 

Next week’s overnight closures are necessary to accommodate the Bumble Bee Road bridge takedown operations over southbound I-17 and to keep the traveling public safe.  

The Bumble Bee bridge over southbound I-17 is being completely reconstructed to prepare for the flex lanes that are being added as part of the I-17 Improvement Project. During the last several months, a new and wider bridge was constructed directly north of the old bridge scheduled for takedown.

Construction and closure schedules are subject to change due to inclement weather. 

The entire 23-mile stretch of I-17 between Anthem Way and Sunset Point remains under construction through 2025, as the new lanes are constructed and paved and a dozen bridges are either widened or replaced. The 15 miles of new lanes between Anthem Way and Black Canyon City are expected to open this spring, and the eight miles of flex lanes between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point are expected to open later in 2025. 

Once fully complete, this major design-build project will help alleviate congestion and improve safety and traffic flow along a Key Commerce Corridor that is crucial to the state’s travel, tourism and economic development opportunities. 

As a reminder to all drivers, ADOT lowered the speed limit to 65 mph along the entire 23-mile construction zone between Anthem Way and Sunset Point as a safety measure to reduce crashes due to excessive speed and hazardous driving behaviors. ADOT and DPS strongly urge drivers to slow down, pay attention in the work zone, and watch for other drivers, construction workers, vehicles and equipment. 

For more information about the I-17 Improvement Project or to sign up for the weekly traffic alerts, visit improvingi17.com. For the latest information on highway closures and conditions, visit az511.com. 

PHOENIX – The message is simple: slow down and pay attention.

Beginning today, drivers traveling through the I-17 Improvement Project corridor between Anthem Way and Sunset Point will see additional Department of Public Safety troopers looking for drivers who speed and drive recklessly. 

This collaborative effort between the Arizona Department of Transportation and DPS is designed to increase safety and reduce the number of crashes in the work zone. The enforcement patrols will focus on hazardous driver behaviors that could create safety issues in the work zone for both travelers and construction crews. ADOT and DPS want to remind drivers about the importance of obeying speed limits, monitoring following distances and avoiding distractions while driving through these work zones. 

The speed limit throughout the entire 23-mile I-17 Improvement Project corridor has been 65 mph since the project began in September 2022. DPS troopers will patrol both northbound and southbound I-17, with a particular focus in the Bumble Bee area where work continues on the eight miles of flex lanes. DPS and ADOT also will be conducting commercial vehicle enforcement in the area in accordance with the Arizona Commercial Vehicle Safety Partnership (ACVSP) – a collaboration between both agencies.

The added patrols and enforcement will also be in force during two 12-hour overnight full closures of southbound I-17 in February as the project team takes down the old Bumble Bee bridge. As part of that operation, Bumble Bee Road will be closed in both directions for approximately six weeks. 

Bumble Bee Road is frequently used as an emergency pull-off and turn-around area when there is an incident on the I-17 mainline that causes a closure or major back-ups. Emergency responders will often turn traffic around at this traffic interchange. The extra DPS patrols are designed to target hazardous driver behaviors that could lead to crashes and/or incidents occurring while Bumble Bee Road is closed and can’t be used as a turnaround point. 

The entire 23-mile stretch of I-17 between Anthem Way and Sunset Point remains under construction through 2025, as the new lanes are constructed and a dozen bridges are either widened or replaced. The 15 miles of new lanes between Anthem Way and Black Canyon City are expected to open this spring once paving is complete, and the eight miles of flex lanes between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point are expected to open later in 2025. 

Once fully complete, this major design-build project will help alleviate congestion and improve safety and traffic flow along a Key Commerce Corridor that is crucial to the state’s travel, tourism and economic development opportunities. 

For more information about the I-17 Improvement Project or to sign up for the weekly traffic alerts, visit improvingi17.com. For the latest information on highway closures and conditions, visit az511.com. 

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Traveler Alert: Overnight closures of southbound I-17 at Bumble Bee Road scheduled July 22-25
Closures necessary for I-17 Improvement Project bridge work

PHOENIX – Drivers traveling along southbound Interstate 17 during the overnight hours next week should plan for closures of I-17 at Bumble Bee Road (milepost 248) for ongoing work to reconstruct the southbound Bumble Bee bridge as part of the I-17 Improvement Project. 

The full southbound closures will occur from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. the nights of Monday, July 22, Tuesday, July 23, Wednesday, July 24, and Thursday, July 25, with work finishing up the morning of Friday, July 26. 

Beginning at 8 p.m. each night, southbound traffic on I-17 will be reduced to one lane just south of Sunset Point (milepost 252), then diverted off the mainline at the Bumble Bee Road exit. The detour route will follow Bumble Bee Road around the bridge work, then traffic will reconnect with southbound I-17 approximately three-quarters of a mile from the Bumble Bee Road exit.

The speed limit along the detour route is 25 mph for the safety of the traveling public and highway crews. The northbound I-17 off-ramp at Bumble Bee Road will be closed during the same days and times. 

The overnight closures are necessary to accommodate the work at the Bumble Bee Road bridge over southbound I-17 and to keep the traveling public safe. Girders will be placed and other bridge work will occur during the four nights of next week’s closures. Additional weeknight overnight closures in this area will be necessary during the upcoming months as the Bumble Bee Road bridge over southbound I-17 is reconstructed to prepare for the flex lanes being added as part of the I-17 Improvement Project. The work includes building a new bridge north of the existing bridge and taking down the old bridge.

The entire 23-mile stretch between Anthem Way and Sunset Point remains under construction throughout 2024 and 2025, as the new lanes are constructed and paved and a dozen bridges are either widened or replaced. The 15 miles of new lanes between Anthem Way and Black Canyon City are expected to open by the end of 2024, and the eight miles of flex lanes between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point are expected to open in 2025. 

Once fully complete in 2025, this major design-build project will help alleviate congestion and improve safety and traffic flow along a Key Commerce Corridor that is crucial to the state’s travel, tourism and economic development opportunities. 

As a reminder to all drivers, ADOT lowered the speed limit to 65 mph along the entire 23-mile construction zone between Anthem Way and Sunset Point as a safety measure to reduce crashes due to excessive speed. The Arizona Department of Public Safety is partnering with ADOT to enforce the reduced speed limit. Both agencies strongly urge drivers to slow down, pay attention in the work zone, and watch for construction workers, vehicles and equipment. 

For more information about the I-17 Improvement Project or to sign up for the weekly traffic alerts, visit improvingi17.com. For the latest information on highway closures and conditions, visit az511.com. 

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PHOENIX – Just in time for the winter travel season, drivers heading back to the Valley along Interstate 17 will notice a bit of a shift as they head toward the New River area. 

Over the weekend, crews with the I-17 Improvement Project opened the new southbound Moores Gulch bridge at milepost 238 and shifted traffic onto the new lanes of that bridge. It’s a milestone marking the major bridge work progress happening on this project. 

Traffic was shifted to the outside (the right side heading southbound) on the completed portion of the new bridge. This allows construction work to take place on the inside portion (the left side heading southbound). The remaining old section of the Moores Gulch bridge needs to be replaced. Crews began taking down the old section this past weekend. 

In the meantime, temporary striping and temporary concrete barriers will direct traffic to the outside lanes on the new bridge deck. Traffic will remain in this configuration for several months, until the inside portion of the new bridge and the new third lane are completed. 

The I-17 Improvement Project includes adding a third lane in each direction along the 15-mile stretch between Anthem Way and Black Canyon City. Widening the highway requires widening several bridges. From Black Canyon City to Sunset Point, flex lanes are being added along that 8-mile stretch. The new 15 miles of general purpose lanes are expected to open in late 2024, and the flex lanes are expected to open in 2025, the first of their kind in Arizona. 

The southbound Moores Gulch bridge is one of two bridges that are being replaced as part of the project. Ten other bridges, including the northbound Moores Gulch bridge, are being widened. 

Once the I-17 Improvement Project is complete in 2025, this major design-build project will help alleviate congestion and improve safety and traffic flow along a Key Commerce Corridor that is crucial to the state’s travel, tourism and economic development opportunities. 

Drivers are reminded to use caution and obey the reduced speed limit of 65 mph throughout the project’s 23-mile construction zone from Anthem Way to Sunset Point. This helps keep drivers, their passengers and construction workers safe. For more information about the I-17 Improvement Project and to sign up for traffic alerts, visit improvingi17.com. 

PHOENIX – Motorists driving Interstate 17 north of Phoenix over the last year have seen crews moving dirt and blasting rock to make way for a wider and safer 23-mile stretch of highway between Anthem Way and Sunset Point, as part of the I-17 Improvement Project. When the project is completed in 2025, drivers traveling the approximately 8 miles between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point will experience the first flex lanes on Arizona’s state highway system. 

Today the Arizona Department of Transportation unveiled an animated video created to help explain how the new flex lanes will work. The video can be found on a newly launched webpage dedicated to explaining the system, along with providing information and resources for drivers. 

“The flex lanes are an innovative solution that increases safety and helps address congestion in a very challenging geographic area,” said Annette Riley, ADOT’s project manager for the I-17 Improvement Project.

The two-lane flex lane system is being constructed adjacent to the existing southbound lanes and will carry one direction of traffic at a time. The flex lanes are a proven system that safely addresses traffic congestion during peak travel times, or if an unplanned incident creates delays. Typically, the flex lanes will be open to northbound traffic Monday through Saturday, and open to southbound traffic on Sunday. However, the flex lanes will be open, as needed, to whichever direction has the heaviest traffic. They will be operational at all times seven days a week. 

The new animated video shows how vehicles will use new crossover lanes to safely access the flex lanes, which will be separated from the existing southbound lanes by a concrete barrier. Steel gates will be installed in the concrete barrier in four locations, allowing emergency responders to clear traffic out of the flex lanes and into the general purpose lanes in the event of an incident.

ADOT’s Traffic Operations Center will manage and monitor the flex lanes remotely using cameras that will be placed throughout the corridor.

• Dynamic overhead guide signs will alert drivers to the open direction of the flex lanes.
• Safety systems will be in place to prevent vehicles from entering the flex lanes when traffic is flowing in the opposite direction.
• A specialized automated net barrier and swing gate system will operate at both ends of the flex lanes.
• When one direction of the flex lanes is closed, a series of swing gates will be extended. These gates get progressively wider and block access to the flex lanes.
• Beyond the swing gates, a vehicle-arresting barrier with a net in the down position will also prevent vehicles from entering the flex lanes in the wrong direction.
• These components of the flex lanes safety system are designed specifically for reversible lane operations in controlling the direction of traffic.

For more information on the entire 23-mile I-17 Improvement Project between Anthem Way and Sunset Point, go to improvingI17.com.

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