PHOENIX — Motorists headed to the Flagstaff Airport, Fort Tuthill County Park, and to State Route 89A from Interstate 17 need to be aware of a traffic restriction that prevents travel across JW Powell Boulevard beginning early morning on Monday, June 8. 

This restriction will be in place continuously until early July while work is being performed at the tie-in and on the ramp for the new eastern roundabout.

Recommended detours as follows:

• Travel for southbound I-17 connections to the Flagstaff Airport can be accommodated by continuing to Exit 333 (Kachina Boulevard/Mountainaire Road) and then travel back northbound to Exit 337.
• Travel from the Flagstaff Airport returning to southbound I-17 can be accommodated by traveling northbound on I-17 to Exit 339 (Lake Mary Road) and following detour signage to return to the interstate.
• Travel for northbound traffic on I-17 needing to connect to SR 89A and Fort Tuthill County Park can be accommodated by continuing to Exit 339 (Lake Mary Road) then access to SR 89A at the intersection.
• Travel for northbound traffic on SR89A or from Fort Tuthill County Park needing to connect to I-17 can be accommodated by continuing north on SR89A/Beulah Blvd to McConnell Drive then access to I-17.  Detour signage will be in place to assist travel in the area.

This phase of construction is part of a project begun June 2014 and will facilitate safer flow of traffic through the area, and is designed to meet current and future traffic demand. This project is anticipated to be completed by early fall 2015.

ADOT advises drivers to proceed through the work zone with caution, slow down, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel. Please allow additional time to accommodate for your destinations during the detours in place.

To stay up to date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information Center at az511.gov or call 511; outside of Arizona dial 1.888.411.ROAD (7623).

PHOENIX – In order to provide a safer flow for traffic, the Arizona Department of Transportation will realign State Route 89A and reconstruct the intersection of southbound Interstate 17 and JW Powell Boulevard three miles south of Flagstaff.

Crews began construction of new alignments of SR 89A, and southbound on- and off-ramps at JW Powell Boulevard near Fort Tuthill County Park and Flagstaff-Pulliam Airport on June 2.

The project will also include the construction of roundabouts at the entrance to the park and the southbound I-17 ramps. The roundabouts will help facilitate the safer flow of traffic through the area, and will be designed to meet current and future traffic demand.

Drivers can expect restrictions and lane closures throughout construction.

Preparations for this project began last September when ADOT worked closely with Coconino County, the city of Flagstaff and the local utility company to remove trees to allow space for project construction while saving as many trees as possible. The area will be re-seeded with native vegetation once the project is complete.

The project is anticipated to be complete by summer 2015.

Members of the public can email [email protected] or call the project hotline at 855.712.8530.

PHOENIX – One of the most visible projects on Interstate 17 is moving onto the final phase of construction.

Since the January 2013 start of the $11.8 million safety improvement project south of Camp Verde, the Arizona Department of Transportation has moved approximately 350,000 tons of dirt and boulders from Copper Canyon to clear a path for the construction of the first-ever climbing lane (and third travel lane) on southbound I-17.

When complete, the additional southbound lane through the final two miles to the top of Copper Canyon will make it easier for motorists to pass large trucks and slow-moving vehicles whose speed drops because of the sustained grades along this stretch of highway (mileposts 280-282), which is the primary travel route linking Phoenix and Flagstaff.

Since early 2013, motorists traveling late at night on I-17 (primarily between 11:30 p.m. and 3:30 a.m.) have had to plan ahead to avoid more than 70 planned one-hour closures required to safely remove the rock material from the mountainside of Copper Canyon. Those restrictions ended with the final overnight blasting closure on Feb. 18, but additional lane restrictions are anticipated in the future as crews move to pave the new lane.

With the blasting phase of the project completed on Copper Canyon and the project 80 percent finished, crews have already begun building the subgrade for the new pavement on the climbing lane, which will add a third travel lane for motorists to climb to the top of the steep Copper Canyon.

ADOT will start final paving operations for the project in early summer when temperatures are ideal for this type of work.

In addition to the climbing lane, ADOT is also building a two-mile-long merging lane between the State Route 260 junction and General Crook Trail traffic interchange (mileposts 285-287), which is located just before the approach to Copper Canyon. The merging lane will allow larger vehicles to gain speed before merging onto I-17 while also providing more room for passenger vehicles traveling past slower traffic.

ADOT expects to complete the entire project in early summer. Visit facebook.com/azdot or azdot.gov for more information about ADOT. For more information about ADOT projects and programs across Arizona, see the agency's latest blog posts at azdot.gov/adot-blog.

PHOENIX – Three highway projects by the Arizona Department of Transportation, including two major northern Arizona projects, won Engineering Excellence Grand Awards presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Arizona earlier this year. Two other projects received Honor Awards.

The winning projects were the Interstate 17/State Route 69 Cordes Junction Traffic Interchange, the US 89T Interim US 89 Detour and a topographical survey on the State Route 89A improvement project through Oak Creek Canyon.

HDR Engineering, Inc., won a Grand Award for the I-17/SR 69 Cordes Junction traffic interchange project. This project was ADOT’s first federally funded highway project to be built under the construction manager-at-risk (CMAR) method in Arizona. The CMAR concept is an innovative contracting method that involves pairing a design team with a construction team to create one, coordinated entity that delivers a freeway project from beginning to end. This method can save time and money by overlapping the design and construction phases.

The US 89T project, built to serve as a detour to the landslide-damaged US 89, received the award for AZTEC Engineering Group’s coordinated effort to produce roadway plans and get environmental clearance in less than two months. This process normally takes one to two years to complete.

ADOT, the Federal Highway Administration, the Navajo Nation, Navajo Division of Transportation and Bureau of Indian Affairs worked together to accelerate the process in order to open the temporary route as soon as possible. US 89T cuts the original detour route via US 160 and SR 98 nearly in half, saving time and mileage.

The SR 89A improvement project, which will include repaving the roadway, replacing guardrail, repairing the bridge deck at Pumphouse Wash and mitigating rock falls in the area, received the award for David Evans and Associates’ innovative use of laser imaging technologies to conduct a topographical survey. The use of laser imaging resulted in fewer lane closures and significant savings in time and cost. Topographical surveys are a part of the design phase of a roadway project.

Honor Awards were received by URS Corporation for the redesign of the Interstate 10/State Route 90 interchange to solve safety and traffic capacity issues, and by Parsons Brinckerhoff for the Avenue 3E widening project from Gila Ridge Road to 24th Street in Yuma to provide better connectivity through the community.

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Arizona Engineering Excellence Awards competition recognizes engineering firms for projects that demonstrate an exceptional degree of innovation, complexity, achievement and value.

American Council of Engineering Companies of Arizona is a member organization under the American Council of Engineering Companies, and is devoted exclusively to the business interests of engineers in private practice.

PHOENIX – The McGuireville rest area along Interstate 17 at milepost 298 near State Route 179 reopened to travelers yesterday after renovations to the rest area were completed, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Both facilities on either side of I-17 received upgraded restrooms and sewer lines as well as a new well and water pumps.

This renovation will help ensure the McGuireville rest area will remain operational for travelers in the years to come. The revamped water system will be able to deliver water, a critical component of rest areas, to the restrooms, water fountains and even the caretakers who live onsite.

The project, which was to reopen in September, was delayed in reopening due to electrical equipment delays for the new water pump.