I-17

State budget provides for full I-17 improvement north of Valley

State budget provides for full I-17 improvement north of Valley

State budget provides for full I-17 improvement north of Valley

June 12, 2019

By David Rookhuyzen / ADOT Communications

The state budget approved by state lawmakers and signed by Governor Doug Ducey provides a $130 million needed to complete widening I-17 north of Anthem, in addition to where the flex lanes have already been planned between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point.

ADOT has been working to advance projects to improve traffic flow and safety along 23 miles of I-17 between Anthem and Sunset Point north of Phoenix. More than $190 million was already committed to building flex lanes north of Black Canyon City as well as adding 7 miles of a third southbound lane directly south of that project.

Investing an additional $130 million over three years will allow ADOT to complete all sections of new third lanes between Anthem and Black Canyon City. Combined with the flex lanes, this increased capacity will enhance safety and help address traffic flow challenges and backups that occur due to crashes and when many drivers are traveling to or from Arizona’s high country on summer weekends.

You can see a visualization of the project and how the flex lanes will operate in the video above.

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State budget provides funding for full I-17 widening project north of Valley

State budget provides funding for full I-17 widening project north of Valley

State budget provides funding for full I-17 widening project north of Valley

May 31, 2019

PHOENIX – With planned Interstate 17 flex lanes between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point set for construction starting by 2021, the state budget approved by state lawmakers and signed by Governor Doug Ducey provides the additional funding needed to also complete widening I-17 south of where the flex system will be built.

This $130 million investment to complete new third lanes in both directions of I-17 between Anthem and Black Canyon City is one of many in the budget that will expand and preserve transportation infrastructure across Arizona. Appropriations from the State General Fund include $10 million for an ADOT study on adding lanes to Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson and $10.5 million for preserving state highways to extend the life of existing pavement.

“As Governor Ducey and members of the legislature recognize, investing in critical transportation infrastructure will drive Arizona’s 21st century economy. Our leaders are investing today to support Arizona’s future prosperity,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “As we expand critical commerce corridors and safeguard our state’s $22.6 billion investment in our transportation system, it’s equally important to keep roads in our rural communities safe and reliable.”

In addition to baseline funding for transportation and infrastructure, the budget includes more than $95 million in appropriations from the State General Fund for targeted transportation projects that will improve safety and spur economic development in Greater Arizona. This includes $28 million for expanding US 95 between Yuma and Yuma Proving Ground, that region’s largest employer. There is $20 million to help build two Interstate 40 interchanges needed to accommodate growth in Kingman, with the city providing the remainder of the funding required.

The Maricopa Association of Governments is providing $50 million in regional funds to help fund the widening of I-17 between Black Canyon City and Anthem.

The I-17 flex lanes will operate as a separate two-lane roadway carrying one direction of traffic at a time depending on the greatest need along the steep 8 miles between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point. With gates at each end and separated by concrete barrier from the current southbound lanes, the flex lanes will be able to carry heavier northbound traffic on a Friday or southbound traffic on a Sunday. They also can keep traffic moving if there is a closure in that stretch.

Required environmental studies for the I-17 corridor are scheduled to be completed by this summer, with the projects scheduled for completion by 2023.

The budget commits $10 million from the State General Fund to an ADOT study, in collaboration with the Maricopa Association of Governments and Gila River Indian Community, on adding a lane in each direction and improving interchanges on I-10 between Phoenix and Casa Grande. Completing a design concept report and environmental study will determine needs and costs, and establish how the improvements will be phased. This process is on track to begin this year with an accelerated 18-month timeline.

The $51.1 million in funds, including $10.5 million in additional funding from the State General Fund, will allow ADOT to preserve the road surface along more miles of state highway through treatments known as fog seals and chip seals. These investments are critical to extend the life of existing pavement by sealing road surfaces against the ravages of weather, heavy use and time.

The budget’s other transportation infrastructure investments from the State General Fund include:

$18 million for counties and cities and towns
$10 million for local aviation projects
$6.5 million for Mesa to construct a State Route 24 bridge over Ellsworth Road
$2.8 million for Globe to repair or replace the Jesse Hayes Road over Pinal Creek

Improvement projects ramping up along Arizona’s high country highways

Improvement projects ramping up along Arizona’s high country highways

Improvement projects ramping up along Arizona’s high country highways

May 16, 2019

PHOENIX – With warm weather returning, the Arizona Department of Transportation is resuming projects to repair and preserve the surfaces of state highways in Arizona’s high country.

While ADOT works to minimize delays for those traveling to and from northern Arizona, including not scheduling work over weekends and holidays, highways at higher elevations can only be paved during warmer months. Drivers heading north this summer should prepare by checking the Arizona Traveler Information site az511.gov, calling 511 and following ADOT’s Twitter account (@ArizonaDOT) to get the latest information on highway restrictions.

“Summer is the best time to do work on northern Arizona highways because the overnight temperatures need to be high enough for new pavement to cure properly,” said Audra Merrick, district engineer for ADOT’s North Central District. “These projects help repair long-term damage to pavement from multiple winters.”

Work has resumed along Interstate 40 between Cataract Lake and Parks west of Flagstaff, with crews first repairing the Grand Canyon Boulevard traffic interchange in Williams. There will be ramp closures at this interchange through early June as crews repair the ramps and guardrail. Crews will finish the project by laying fresh pavement along 17 miles of I-40.

Last summer, crews rebuilt 5 miles of I-40 in each direction between Garland Prairie and Pittman Valley roads as well as a 1-mile section in each direction near the Parks interchange.

In June, ADOT will resume paving northbound Interstate 17 from the Coconino County line to the I-40 interchange in Flagstaff. Last year, crews rebuilt the highway between mileposts 312 and 315 and installed new bridges at Willard Springs Road.

A project scheduled to begin in mid-August will address pavement damage along State Route 89A through Oak Creek Canyon. The project, covering nearly 12 miles between uptown Sedona and the Pumphouse Wash bridge, will mill down the damaged roadway and install new pavement and guardrail.

For more information on these and other projects in Arizona’s high country, and to sign up to receive project updates, please visit azdot.gov/projects and click on the North Central District.

ADOT’s free AZ 511 app, available for iOS and Android devices, allows you to save your favorite routes and destinations, learn about incidents or road work that may affect a trip, get estimated travel times and learn about alternate routes. It complements the free ADOT Alerts app, available at ADOTAlerts.com, which uses geofencing technology to alert motorists in an area about major, unplanned incidents such as closures and direct them to alternate routes.

Throwback Thursday: How I-17 came to be

Throwback Thursday: How I-17 came to be

Throwback Thursday: How I-17 came to be

May 9, 2019

By Angela De Welles / ADOT Communications

We can only imagine what the men in these photographs must have said on Nov. 10, 1964, at the dedication ceremony for a portion of Interstate 17, also known as the Black Canyon Freeway...

They might have remarked how Arizona was in the middle of a population boom. According to the Arizona Transportation History report, the state’s population “grew from 750,000 in 1950 to 1.3 million in 1960 and then to 1.8 million in 1970, an increase of more than a million residents in only two decades.”

They might also have spoken of their hopes for this new stretch of road and how a versatile transportation system can help transform an area’s economy and quality of life for residents.

Maybe they even guessed at the future and envisioned the numerous routes Arizona motorists can drive on today.

While we don’t know for sure what they said, we do have some insight into how plans for the Black Canyon Freeway developed over the years. Here’s an excerpt from the Arizona Transportation History report that gives more details:

“Phoenix’s freeway system began in 1950, with the Black Canyon Freeway, a joint city-state effort designed to relieve rush-hour congestion in Phoenix and also to increase the capacity of State Routes 69 and 79, which connected the Salt River Valley to the Verde Valley and Flagstaff. By modern standards, the Black Canyon Freeway was a modest undertaking: a four-lane controlled access highway (the state’s first) that began west of downtown and ran north for a few miles before merging back into the city’s arterial street network. Its premiere feature was the state’s first freeway interchange, which was built at Grand Avenue and completed by 1957.

“By the time the Grand Avenue interchange had opened, the Interstate highway system was being planned by the federal government, offering Phoenix officials new resources that could be used to significantly expand their new freeway system. The Black Canyon was designated part of Interstate 17, which was planned to connect Phoenix with Flagstaff, and plans were announced for a second freeway, the Maricopa Freeway, which would become part of Interstate 10 between Phoenix and southern Arizona.

“Work began on the Maricopa Freeway in 1958, and soon contracts for both new freeways were being issued on a regular basis. By 1961, more than six miles of the Black Canyon were open to traffic, from McDowell Road to Northern Avenue, and work was proceeding at a rapid pace. In late 1964, the combined Black Canyon–Maricopa freeway was dedicated from 16th Street to just north of the Carefree Highway. At a cost of $33.5 million for 30 miles of roadway—more than a $1 million per mile—it was by far the most expensive highway built in Arizona up to that time.”

So much has changed since 1964, but I-17 is still here, giving motorists a way to get around the state.

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Changes are taking shape at I-17 and Pinnacle Peak, Happy Valley roads

Changes are taking shape at I-17 and Pinnacle Peak, Happy Valley roads

Changes are taking shape at I-17 and Pinnacle Peak, Happy Valley roads

April 17, 2019

By Kim Noetzel / ADOT Communications

If you live, work or drive in north Phoenix, get ready to see changes on Interstate 17 at Pinnacle Peak and Happy Valley roads. The Arizona Department of Transportation’s traffic interchange reconstruction project is taking shape from the ground up.

Work on the $50 million project began in November 2018 and has so far included roadway work, utility relocations, installation of underground pipes, building up the embankments and replacing the drainage culvert east of I-17 at Pinnacle Peak Road.

This month, crews began constructing the footings and abutment walls for the new bridge that will carry westbound traffic over I-17 at Pinnacle Peak Road. Pouring concrete for the 19-foot-tall pier columns that will support the new bridge are scheduled by month’s end. As these recent photos illustrate, cranes are moving forms into place as iron workers carefully assemble the rebar cages for the foundations, abutment walls and piers.

Once these vital bridge support structures are in place, the project team plans to place the westbound bridge girders in mid-May. The concrete girders are the horizontal support beams onto which the 258-foot bridge deck will be constructed.

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With the bridge deck in place by late summer, crews plan to switch traffic onto the new structure, demolish the existing Pinnacle Peak Road bridge, and then build the eastbound Pinnacle Peak Road bridge over I-17.

At the same time, construction activity will ramp up at Happy Valley Road, where a new diverging diamond interchange will replace the two-lane bridge and roundabouts on the east and west ends.

In the coming weeks, drivers should expect continued lane restrictions in the project area. Beginning in May and continuing through November, at least 14 full closures of north and southbound I-17 in the project area are scheduled to occur on weekends. Crews also will work week nights on the cross street bridges. ADOT will provide specific information about upcoming restrictions and closures as it is finalized.

To learn more, and to subscribe for project updates and traffic alerts by email, visit the project webpage.

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Pinnacle Peak Road bridge construction gearing up along I-17

Pinnacle Peak Road bridge construction gearing up along I-17

Pinnacle Peak Road bridge construction gearing up along I-17

April 16, 2019

PHOENIX – A new bridge to carry Pinnacle Peak Road traffic over Interstate 17 will start to take shape over the next month as part of improvements coming to north Phoenix.

The Arizona Department of Transportation’s $50 million project is designed to improve traffic flow and safety by rebuilding the I-17 older interchanges at both Pinnacle Peak and Happy Valley roads.

In addition to building bridge abutment walls, crews this month will pour concrete for two 19-foot-tall pier columns along the center median of I-17 at Pinnacle Peak Road. The columns will help support the steel-reinforced concrete girders that will hold the Pinnacle Peak bridge deck. Crews are scheduled to place girders in mid-May.

Overnight lane restrictions are scheduled along Pinnacle Peak Road near I-17 the next two weeks for the bridge work. Eastbound Pinnacle Peak Road will be narrowed to one lane at the I-17 interchange from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday nights (April 17-18) this week. The same restriction is scheduled Monday through Thursday nights next week (April 22-25).

Drivers also can expect construction work to ramp up near I-17 and Happy Valley Road, where crews are building a diverging diamond interchange to replace the existing two-lane bridge and roundabouts.

The bridge work, including girder placement, will require more than a dozen full closures of I-17 in the project area between May and November, with many of them scheduled during overnight hours and on weekends. Specific information about restrictions and detour routes will be provided in advance of any closures.

Since the project started in November 2018, crews have focused on utility relocations, soil stabilization and building up embankments at both of the adjacent interchanges. An upgraded drainage culvert beneath Pinnacle Peak Road east of I-17 also has been completed.

The I-17/Happy Valley and Pinnacle Peak interchanges project is scheduled for completion in fall 2020. More information is available at azdot.gov/I17TrafficInterchanges.

Pinnacle Peak Road reopens east of I-17 after culvert work

Pinnacle Peak Road reopens east of I-17 after culvert work

Pinnacle Peak Road reopens east of I-17 after culvert work

March 14, 2019

PHOENIX – A short section of Pinnacle Peak Road is open as planned east of the Interstate 17 interchange in north Phoenix following work that began last month to replace a concrete drainage culvert under the roadway.

The culvert work, which started on Feb. 19, is part of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s $50 million project to reconstruct the I-17 interchanges at Pinnacle Peak and Happy Valley roads.

A new, larger culvert is now in place to pass along storm runoff.

ADOT worked closely with the city of Phoenix to arrange for detour routes and maintain access to businesses and a school while Pinnacle Peak Road was closed. All of the on- and off-ramps at the Pinnacle Peak Road interchange remained open to traffic.

ADOT’s project to reconstruct the interchanges at Happy Valley and Pinnacle Peak roads started in November 2018 and is scheduled for completion by fall 2020.

The project is funded through the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Regional Transportation Plan approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004. Funding sources include a regional half-cent sales tax for transportation projects as well as the Phoenix region’s share of federal highway funds.

Thinking outside the box at I-17 and Pinnacle Peak Road

Thinking outside the box at I-17 and Pinnacle Peak Road

Thinking outside the box at I-17 and Pinnacle Peak Road

February 13, 2019

By Kim Noetzel / ADOT Communications

Drivers who use Pinnacle Peak Road at Interstate 17 will soon experience the first major impact of the $50 million project to reconstruct two overburdened traffic interchanges in north Phoenix. A section of Pinnacle Peak Road directly east of I-17 is scheduled to close for 23 days as crews remove and replace a drainage box culvert beneath the roadway.

The closure is scheduled to be in place around-the clock from early Tuesday, Feb. 19, until the early Thursday, March 14. Drivers who rely on Pinnacle Peak Road in the area will need to use alternate routes and, for those 23 days, allow plenty of extra travel time because of heavier-than-usual traffic. Learn more about detour routes.

Removing and replacing a concrete culvert can be a large and complicated endeavor. Culverts come in different shapes and sizes depending on various factors, such as location and climate. They function as cross drains, allowing water to flow under a road, highway, railroad or other man-made obstruction from one side to the other. You probably haven’t thought much about – or even noticed – the box culverts situated just below the streets and highways you drive on every day because, let’s face it, they aren’t terribly exciting.

That is, until it’s time to replace a really big one made from reinforced concrete and steel and nearly as long as four semi-trucks.

The culvert under Pinnacle Peak Road at I-17 is 6 feet high, 8 feet wide and a whopping 199 feet long. To remove it, crews need to work carefully beneath the roadway where they’ll break up the existing concrete-and-steel structure into smaller sections and haul it all away. At the same time they’ll build a new box culvert in its place – even wider and longer – to accommodate the new tight-diamond traffic interchange being constructed at I-17 and Pinnacle Peak Road.

There is light at the end of the tunnel (or culvert, in this case). With the larger culvert in place, ADOT can then build the new I-17 interchange at Pinnacle Peak Road that features two through lanes in each direction; two dedicated left-turn lanes; dedicated right-turn lanes; and bicycle and pedestrian walkways. See a before-and-after image of the existing interchange compared to the new one.

After work is done at Pinnacle Peak Road, the project will shift to I-17 and Happy Valley Road, where plans call for removing the roundabouts and building a diverging diamond interchange. Removing the roundabouts also promises to be no small feat, so stay tuned for another blog when this project reaches that long-awaited milestone.

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Pinnacle Peak Road to close east of I-17 until mid-March

Pinnacle Peak Road to close east of I-17 until mid-March

Pinnacle Peak Road to close east of I-17 until mid-March

February 12, 2019

PHOENIX – A short section of Pinnacle Peak Road east of the Interstate 17 interchange in north Phoenix will be closed for just over three weeks starting early Tuesday, Feb. 19, while crews remove and replace a concrete drainage culvert. The road is scheduled to reopen March 14.

The work is part of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s ongoing project to reconstruct the I-17 interchanges at both Pinnacle Peak and Happy Valley roads.

Drivers who normally would use Pinnacle Peak Road in either direction just east of the I-17 interchange should plan on using alternate routes, including Deer Valley Road or Happy Valley Road.

All of the I-17 on- and off-ramps at Pinnacle Peak Road will remain open to traffic, as will the northbound I-17 frontage road in the area. Northbound I-17 drivers exiting at Pinnacle Peak Road will be limited to either left turns to travel westbound or continuing north onto I-17 or along the frontage road to Happy Valley Road.

Drivers using the eastbound Pinnacle Peak Road bridge over I-17 will be required to make left turns to travel northbound, either onto northbound I-17 or along the frontage road to Happy Valley Road.

ADOT has worked with the city of Phoenix to develop local detour routes. Businesses and schools in the area south of Pinnacle Peak Road and east of I-17 will remain accessible via 19th Avenue.

The closure of Pinnacle Peak Road east of I-17 is scheduled to start just after midnight Feb. 19 and end in the early morning hours of Thursday, March 14.

The Pinnacle Peak drainage culvert replacement is part of ADOT’s $50 million I-17 project that will reconstruct the interchanges at Happy Valley and Pinnacle Peak roads. Work started in November 2018 and is scheduled for completion by fall 2020.

Busy year ahead for highway projects in northern Arizona

Busy year ahead for highway projects in northern Arizona

Busy year ahead for highway projects in northern Arizona

January 23, 2019

PHOENIX – This year will be filled with highway system improvements for northern Arizona travelers, including the start of the latest Arizona Department of Transportation project expanding US 93 to four-lane divided highway between Wickenburg and Interstate 40.

Crews will soon launch a $35.5 million project on nearly 4 miles of US 93 just north of Wikieup, between Carrow and Stephens, connecting two sections of highway that have already been divided. That will provide a continuous stretch of divided four-lane highway from milepost 108, about 15 miles south of I-40, and milepost 121 near Wikieup.

With an eye toward an Interstate 11, ADOT has invested more than half a billion dollars over the past 20 years to turn the primary route between Phoenix and Las Vegas into modern four-lane divided highway. The upcoming project is part of $155 million in US 93 improvements planned over the next five years.

Currently all but 39 miles of the 200-mile drive from Wickenburg to the Nevada state line has been upgraded to a four-lane divided highway to improve traffic flow, support the movement of freight and enhance safety through this heavily traveled area. The entire northern segment of US 93 from Kingman to the Nevada state line (mileposts 1 to 68) is now a four-lane divided highway following the completion of a $71 million project in 2010.

Meanwhile, paving projects to repair long-term winter weather damage will continue in the Flagstaff area, with crews finishing paving along northbound I-17 from milepost 312 to the I-40 interchange and along the 17-mile stretch of I-40 between Cataract Lake and Parks west of Flagstaff.

Last year, crews rebuilt about 20 miles of highway in northern Arizona, providing a long-term fix to damage from freeze-thaw cycles and heavy traffic. In all, ADOT has improved or is in the process of improving 62 miles of interstate freeway in the Flagstaff area.

This spring, ADOT will launch a project to repave 13 miles of State Route 89A from Sedona to the Pumphouse Wash bridge between mileposts 374 and 387. The project will also install new guardrail.

In far northwestern Arizona, the decks of three Virgin River bridges along Interstate 15 will get makeovers starting early this year. Bridge Nos. 2 and 5 will get newly resurfaced decks. Bridge No. 4 will received a brand new deck.

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

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