I-17

New digital signs look to improve safety along a mountainous stretch of I-17.

Highway safety goes far beyond headlines and usually points driver behavior.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has added large “Wrong Way” signs on Interstate 17 bridges and other structures between the Interstate 10 “Stack” interchange and Loop 101, facing in the direction of potential wrong-way drivers.

That’s the same 15-mile stretch where ADOT is installing a first-in-the-nation wrong-way detection and warning prototype that uses thermal cameras.

Placing these “Wrong Way” signs, each measuring 8 feet by 5 feet, is another way ADOT is testing countermeasures to get the attention of wrong-way drivers on I-17.

Drivers taking I-17 this holiday weekend are urged to avoid driving distracted, obey speed limits and make smart decisions behind the wheel.

PHOENIX – Sections of Interstate 17 in Phoenix will be narrowed to one lane during overnight hours this week for overhead sign work, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Drivers should allow extra travel time and be prepared to slow down and use caution when approaching and traveling through the following work zones:

PHOENIX – Arizona Department of Transportation crews will be doing pavement preservation along a nearly 20-mile stretch of Interstate 17 near Cordes Junction early next week.

The project will require alternating lane closures in each direction along the interstate between Crown King and State Route 169. Work will take place on Monday, Oct. 30, and Tuesday, Oct. 31, between 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

PHOENIX – Northbound Seventh Avenue remains narrowed to one lane at the Interstate 17 interchange in Phoenix, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Drivers should consider using other northbound routes in the area approaching downtown Phoenix, including Central Avenue and Seventh Street.

The northbound Seventh Avenue left turning lanes to the northbound I-17 on-ramp are closed. The southbound I-17 off-ramp also is restricted with one of two left turn lanes to northbound Seventh Avenue closed.

PHOENIX – Northbound Seventh Avenue is narrowed to one lane at the Interstate 17 interchange in Phoenix, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Drivers should consider using other northbound routes in the area approaching downtown Phoenix, including Central Avenue and Seventh Street.

The northbound Seventh Avenue left turning lanes to the northbound I-17 on-ramp are closed. The southbound I-17 off-ramp also is restricted with one of two left turn lanes to northbound Seventh Avenue closed.

PHOENIX – The first traffic restrictions required for the installation of a first-in-the-nation pilot wrong-way vehicle detection and warning system are scheduled this weekend at the Interstate 17 interchange at Indian School Road in Phoenix.

Preliminary work started in the past week on the Arizona Department of Transportation’s $3.7 million thermal-camera based project designed to immediately alert ADOT and the Department of Public Safety if a wrong-way vehicle is detected along a 15-mile stretch of I-17.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is proposing a diverging diamond interchange to replace roundabouts at the Interstate 17/Happy Valley Road interchange as a way to provide efficient and safe traffic flow for a growing area of north Phoenix.

Note: An ongoing Federal Highway Administration project will close State Route 89A south of Flagstaff between the Vista Point Overlook and JW Powell Boulevard on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. the following morning. No daytime restrictions are planned July 1-4.

PHOENIX – During the Independence Day weekend, state and local agencies are focusing on keeping motorists safe and placing equipment and resources along heavily traveled highways to help move traffic should incidents occur.

PHOENIX – A $3.7 million project to construct a first-in-the-nation thermal detection system, which will detect wrong-way vehicles and alert the other drivers and law enforcement of them on Interstate 17, was approved Friday afternoon by the State Transportation Board.

Last week, Governor Doug Ducey instructed the Arizona Department of Transportation to accelerate the construction of this system in light of recent wrong-way crashes, which resulted in Friday’s vote.

CAMP VERDE – Visitors and residents can better navigate a busy commercial area in Camp Verde just east of Interstate 17 thanks to a new roundabout installed by the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The revamped intersection of State Route 260 and Industrial Drive, an area where many travelers pull over for gasoline, a bite to eat or a cup of coffee, will keep traffic flowing smoothly in all directions, as well as in and out of businesses.

PHOENIX – Working overnight along stretches of Phoenix-area freeways, Arizona Department of Transportation crews are moving closer to completing installation of new in-pavement sensors that monitor traffic flow.

You can expect overnight closures along Interstate 17 over the next several weeks as crews work to complete the project by this summer.

PHOENIX – Drivers are already noticing a smoother ride on Interstate 17, and there’s more on the way as crews work to resurface more than 10 miles of the freeway between the downtown area and north Phoenix with a fresh layer of rubberized asphalt.

As the Arizona Department of Transportation’s $9.8 million I-17 Improvement Project between Dunlap and 19th avenues approaches the halfway mark, crews have already paved six miles southbound and five miles northbound.

PHOENIX – A late winter storm this week and more precipitation expected next week have Arizona Department of Transportation maintenance crews in patrol-and-patch mode as they address pavement-repair needs on Interstate 40 and Interstate 17 in the high country.

PHOENIX – With warmer weather in the high country, Arizona Department of Transportation maintenance crews are catching up with pavement repair along Interstates 17 and 40 and State Route 89A after an active winter season.

Next week, crews will lay asphalt over existing pavement to smooth rough sections of road along I-40 between mileposts 169 and 172 eastbound, about 10 miles east of Williams. Work will also occur on I-40 eastbound at mileposts 92, 96 and 102-104, in between the US 93 junction and Seligman.

PHOENIX – An 11-mile stretch of Interstate 17 (Black Canyon Freeway) in Phoenix will be resurfaced with a new layer of smooth rubberized asphalt starting in mid-March.

The work is part of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s $9.8 million I-17 improvement project between Peoria Avenue in north Phoenix and 19th Avenue south of the downtown area, which started last fall with sidewalk and wheelchair ramp improvements at cross-street interchanges.

PHOENIX – To reduce traffic backups from crashes, congestion and other incidents along Interstate 17 north of Phoenix, the Arizona Department of Transportation is evaluating options that include the possibility of reversible lanes on the grade between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point.

PHOENIX – With Valley drivers benefiting from several freeway improvement projects completed during 2016, including the widening of Loop 101 between Shea Boulevard and Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) in the Scottsdale area, the Arizona Department of Transportation is poised to start or complete several Phoenix-area projects in the coming year.

ADOT’s highlights for the regional freeway system in 2017 include: