I-19

Sonoran Corridor: March 7 public meeting on potential routes

Sonoran Corridor: March 7 public meeting on potential routes

I-17 101 traffic interchange

Sonoran Corridor: March 7 public meeting on potential routes

Sonoran Corridor: March 7 public meeting on potential routes

February 14, 2019

PHOENIX – Six months after southern Arizona residents gave their opinions on possible routes for the Sonoran Corridor proposed in the Tucson area, they will have the chance March 7 to learn about routes that have been recommended for further study.

At a public meeting, the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration will share the results of an evaluation of 10 alternatives that were presented to the community in September.

The meeting will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 7, at the DoubleTree Suites Tucson Airport, 7051 S. Tucson Blvd. A presentation will begin at 6 p.m.

The meeting is part of a public involvement process that allows the community to ask questions and offer comments about potential locations for the proposed corridor as well as environmental considerations, impacts on wildlife habitat and cultural resources.

The Sonoran Corridor would connect Interstate 10 and Interstate 19 south of Tucson International Airport. It has been designated as a high-priority corridor under the federal Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. There is no timeline for building a freeway in the corridor.

A new freeway in that area would support the economy of southern Arizona and the state. It also would reduce travel distances south of Tucson and relieve congestion at the current interchange of I-10 and I-19 southwest of downtown Tucson.

In the Tier 1 Environmental Impact Study, officials are identifying and studying a range of possible corridors along with the opportunities and constraints of each. The study considers the potential social, economic and natural environment impacts of the alternatives, as well as the impact of not building a freeway in this area. The study, which began in 2017, is expected to be completed in 2020.

The study is evaluating multiple 2,000-foot-wide corridor alternatives, including a no-build alternative and multiple build alternatives, to determine a recommendation that is based on technical analysis and other factors, including public input.

A future Tier 2 environmental study would advance the Tier 1 recommendations to identify the specific project alignment, effects and mitigation. There is no timeline or funding identified for the Tier 2 study.

For more information about this study, please visit azdot.gov/SonoranCorridor.

Public comment also is welcome through April 7 in several ways:
     * Email: [email protected]
     * Toll-free bilingual information line: 855.712.8530
     * Mail: Sonoran Corridor Tier 1 EIS Study Team
        c/o Joanna Bradley
        1221 S. Second Ave., Mail Drop T100
        Tucson, AZ 85713

VIDEO: Renovated Sacaton Rest Area reopens along Interstate 10

VIDEO: Renovated Sacaton Rest Area reopens along Interstate 10

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VIDEO: Renovated Sacaton Rest Area reopens along Interstate 10

VIDEO: Renovated Sacaton Rest Area reopens along Interstate 10

November 15, 2018

By Steve Elliott / ADOT Communications

ADOT rest areas are far more than places to – well, you know.

Among other things, rest areas provide opportunities to stretch legs, walk pets, have picnic lunches and safely use phones and other mobile electronic devices.

We understand it's a hardship when a rest area closes for a long renovation, and we appreciate your patience while we upgraded facilities at the I-10 Sacaton Rest Area between Phoenix and Casa Grande.

Located at about 30 miles southeast of Phoenix near State Route 387, Sacaton is the only ADOT pit stop along I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix.

Our video team was on hand as Sacaton reopened last week to show the improvements and talk with travelers. We hope you enjoy the video above as well as the many upgrades at; this well-used rest area.

Coming soon to I-19 Tucson: the braided ramp

Coming soon to I-19 Tucson: the braided ramp

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Coming soon to I-19 Tucson: the braided ramp

Coming soon to I-19 Tucson: the braided ramp

September 10, 2018

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications

How did the freeway cross the road?

It sounds too simple. Every time a freeway crosses a major street there’s an interchange. For years, engineers have chosen from two primary designs: a diamond interchange with four on- and off-ramps connecting the freeway with the street, and a cloverleaf that uses a combination of long straight ramps and four circular ramps that look a little like a four-leaf clover.

If only life were that simple.

The options for engineers today are endless. Some of the options are already in use or planned in Arizona. There’s the Single Point Urban Interchange, like the one was just constructed on Interstate 19 and Ajo Way, where all ramps come to a single point and are controlled by a single traffic signal. A diverging diamond design, which is planned for Happy Valley and I-17 in Phoenix, two South Mountain Freeway interchanges and Houghton and I-10 in Tucson, eliminates left turns across traffic by having drivers make a temporary shift to the left side while crossing the freeway.

Ramps themselves can add another twist. For the southbound on-ramp at Ajo Way and I-19, our engineers wanted to make it easier for drivers to merge while getting on or off I-19.

Introducing a braided ramp.

To prevent drivers getting on and off the freeway from having to maneuver around each other, in a braided configuration one ramp is elevated, passing over the other ramp.

At Ajo Way and I-19, the southbound on-ramp will pass over the top of the Irvington Road exit ramp. It looks a little like braided hair. You can see a demonstration of how a braided ramp works in the video above, which was made by the city of Round Rock, Texas.

The drivers never cross paths, enhancing safety.

Second phase of I-19/Ajo Way improvement begins in Tucson

Second phase of I-19/Ajo Way improvement begins in Tucson

I-17 101 traffic interchange

Second phase of I-19/Ajo Way improvement begins in Tucson

Second phase of I-19/Ajo Way improvement begins in Tucson

July 25, 2018

PHOENIX – About three months after completing the first phase of improvements to the interchange of Interstate 19 and Ajo Way in Tucson, Arizona Department of Transportation crews have begun the second half of the project.

Work on water and sewer lines to clear the way for the project started this week. Drivers likely won’t see restrictions on area roads until this fall.

The $32 million project includes building a new bridge over the Santa Cruz River, widening Ajo Way between I-19 and Holiday Isle Boulevard, replacing the pedestrian bridge at Michigan Street and creating a braided ramp south of Ajo Way (State Route 86). The Pima Association of Governments, the regional transportation-planning agency, is contributing about $6 million toward the cost.

The braided ramp will have the entrance ramp to southbound I-19 at Ajo Way going over the exit ramp for Irvington Road. The design avoids having drivers maneuver around each other as they enter or exit the freeway. Some of the work to create the braided ramp was completed during the first phase of the project.

Work on the second phase is expected to take about 18 months and should be complete in January 2020.

Improvements during the $54 million first phase included a wider Ajo Way bridge over I-19, new ramps and new interchange design with a single set of signals controlling traffic flow. Other improvements included a wider Irvington Road exit lane, noise walls from Ajo Way south to Irvington Road, a wider Ajo Way east of I-19, a repaved Elizabeth Drive and a reconstructed Lamar Avenue.

Why SR 189 improvements, truck safety training in Mexico make a difference for all

Why SR 189 improvements, truck safety training in Mexico make a difference for all

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Why SR 189 improvements, truck safety training in Mexico make a difference for all

Why SR 189 improvements, truck safety training in Mexico make a difference for all

June 21, 2018

Trucks

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications

Last week, the Arizona State Transportation Board approved $134 million in funding for building all of the planned improvements to State Route 189 in Nogales. SR 189 is a vital road for international commerce because it connects the Mariposa Port of Entry with Interstate 19 and is a 3.75-mile first step in distributing of products and produce across the U.S.

The same week, ADOT officers who perform commercial vehicle safety inspections went to Ensenada, Mexico, for their 14th safety cross-border training program. In the past 11 months, ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division has trained 381 truck drivers and mechanics from Mexico about U.S. safety requirements. Those drivers have made a combined 4,746 trips across the international border and have been stopped only 11 times – one-quarter of 1 percent – for serious safety violations.

Together, those two efforts mean commercial trucks are spending less time crossing the border and will spend less time navigating the start of their journey. Here’s why that matters not only to commercial truckers but to everyone in Arizona and across the U.S.

Rafael Aldrete, director of the Center for International Intelligent Transportation Research at Texas A&M University, wrote recently in The Dallas Morning News that inefficiency at the border extends "like sound waves" across vast distances and in unanticipated ways.

“Those issues can influence the cost of a television sold in Amarillo. They can determine how quickly a computer can be assembled and made available for sale in Dallas. They can affect commutes on interstate highways nationwide. And they dictate when fresh produce can be delivered and how much it will cost," he wrote.

"Traffic delays at the border can even be the decision point for where companies – especially those dependent on just-in-time delivery, like automobile or high-end electronics manufacturing – choose to open facilities, affecting economic development and employment opportunities in that community and statewide."

ADOT is doing more to reduce border wait times for commercial vehicles. Sonoran drivers have used a smartphone application, WhatsApp, 112 times since last August to check safety protocols with inspectors before approaching the border. A safety training program on the Arizona side of the border has trained another 1,521 commercial truckers in half-day safety presentations in Nogales, Douglas and San Luis.

Ultimately shorter wait times for shippers translate, in many cases, to reduced prices for consumers, Aldrete wrote.

"America's economic success depends significantly on transportation, and transportation is heavily impacted by each U.S.-Mexico port of entry – critical links that create and sustain jobs and supply the affordable goods relied upon by businesses and families across the nation," he said.

ADOT wrapping up first phase of Ajo Way/I-19 improvements

ADOT wrapping up first phase of Ajo Way/I-19 improvements

I-17 101 traffic interchange

ADOT wrapping up first phase of Ajo Way/I-19 improvements

ADOT wrapping up first phase of Ajo Way/I-19 improvements

March 15, 2018

TUCSON – With a new, wider bridge carrying Ajo Way (State Route 86) over Interstate 19 and an innovative interchange design managing traffic with one set of signals, the Arizona Department of Transportation is wrapping up the first phase of improvements for a growing area south of downtown Tucson.

While crews are scheduled to finish the final details this month, ADOT engineers are already planning the second phase, which will improve traffic flow in the area around the interchange.

Expected to begin late this summer and take 18 months to complete, the second phase includes widening a section of I-19, replacing the Santa Cruz River bridge on Ajo Way and widening Ajo Way from Holiday Isle Boulevard to I-19. It also will create a ramp from Ajo Way to southbound I-19 that crosses over southbound I-19 traffic exiting at Irvington Road, creating a braided configuration that separates exiting and entering traffic.

The estimated cost of phase two improvements is $29 million.

Phase one improvements, which cost about $40 million, created a new bridge over I-19 with a Single-Point Urban Interchange that has one set of signals controlling all traffic on Ajo Way and ramps to and from I-19. This design enhances safety and is more efficient than traditional interchanges because drivers move through just one set of traffic signals.

Other phase one improvements include a wider Irvington Road exit lane, noise walls from Ajo Way south to Irvington, a wider Ajo Way east of I-19, a repaved Elizabeth Drive and a reconstructed Lamar Avenue.

Turning the corner on Pima County projects in 2018

Turning the corner on Pima County projects in 2018

I-17 101 traffic interchange

Turning the corner on Pima County projects in 2018

Turning the corner on Pima County projects in 2018

January 16, 2018

TUCSON ‒ Removing the bridge that once carried westbound Interstate 10 traffic over Ina Road was the first step in what will be a busy 2018 in the Tucson area for the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Tucson will see the completion of the first phase of renovations at Ajo Way and Interstate 19, the near completion of a new interchange at I-10 and Ina Road and a project to ease congestion at I-10 interchanges serving fast-growing areas east of downtown Tucson.

At Ajo Way (State Route 86), ADOT has created a single-point urban interchange, the third in the Tucson area with a single set of traffic signals controlling all traffic movements. After the first phase of the project is complete this spring, ADOT will prepare for the 18-month second phase of work, which will widen Ajo Way and I-19, create a new Ajo Way bridge over the Santa Cruz River and construct a new Michigan Avenue pedestrian bridge over I-19.

The first phase of the Ajo Way project cost about $40 million, and the second phase is estimated to cost $27 million.

On the last weekend in January, westbound I-10 traffic at Ina Road in Marana will begin sharing the new pavement that now carries eastbound traffic, with a concrete barrier separating the directions of travel. The move will allow construction crews to build the eastern half of the Ina Road bridge and complete the remaining work to widen both I-10 and Ina Road. The project, which also includes a second new bridge carrying Ina Road over the Santa Cruz River, is on schedule for completion in early 2019.

ADOT is overseeing the $128 million Ina Road project, which is 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.

East of downtown Tucson, ADOT will continue making improvements to several interchanges to improve traffic flow. In 2017, ADOT added a traffic signal and a right turn bay at the end of the Houghton Road eastbound exit ramp. Beginning this spring, crews will start adding traffic signals at the eastbound 10 exits for Wilmot, Rita and Kolb roads, with the work scheduled for completion before the end of the year. At Rita Road, crews will add a right turn lane on the eastbound exit and a second merging lane for the westbound on-ramp.

Design of new Tucson interchange promotes efficiency and safety

Design of new Tucson interchange promotes efficiency and safety

I-17 101 traffic interchange

Design of new Tucson interchange promotes efficiency and safety

Design of new Tucson interchange promotes efficiency and safety

December 19, 2017

TUCSON ‒ It may not be immediately apparent to those using the busy interchange of Interstate 19 and Ajo Way (State Route 86), but a single set of signals will soon control traffic in a configuration designed for efficiency and safety.

I-19 and Ajo Way soon will become the Arizona Department of Transportation’s third single-point urban interchange in the Tucson area. Others are at I-19 and Valencia Road, and at Kino Parkway and State Route 210 (Barraza-Aviation Parkway).

“We have an opportunity at Ajo Way and I-19 to use a design that allows traffic to move more efficiently through the intersection more quickly because drivers only have to move through one set of lights instead of two,” said James Gomes, regional traffic engineer for ADOT’s South Central District.

Temporary signals are in place at Ajo Way at this time. The new signals are scheduled to begin operating in January.

Created in 1974 in Clearwater, Florida, the design is often used when an interchange is being reconstructed. In a single-point urban interchange, left-turn drivers from opposite directions can move through the intersection at the same time. Among its other benefits, the design accommodates larger vehicles, including trucks and recreational vehicles, even better than traditional diamond interchanges.

This design has safety advantages as well. While the rate of collisions is about the same, the single-point urban interchange has a lower rate of injuries and fatalities.

After crews poured the new bridge deck over last weekend, the first phase of the project, which also includes widening Ajo Way and improved exit ramps at Ajo Way and Irvington Road, remains on schedule for completion in the spring. The second phase, which hasn’t yet accepted bids from potential contractors, will include widening southbound I-19, an additional transition lane for northbound traffic between Irvington and Ajo Way and improvements on Ajo Way that include a new bridge over the Santa Cruz River.

Saturday night’s all right for working

Saturday night’s all right for working

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Saturday night’s all right for working

Saturday night’s all right for working

December 13, 2017

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications

Holiday parties? On the last pre-holiday weekend of the year?

No, thanks. There’s work to do.

While some of us might get an early start on the Christmas and New Year’s holidays waiting for us over the next two weekends, Arizona Department of Transportation crews at Ajo Way and Ina Road will be firming up their credentials for Santa’s nice list by taking major steps on those two big projects.

On Friday night at Ajo Way, we’ll be pouring concrete to form the deck on the new bridge that carries Ajo (State Route 86) over Interstate 19. When we begin the work at 10 p.m., we’ll close I-19 in both directions for your safety. Traffic will use the exit and ramps to leave and return to the freeway. Ajo Way will be closed, so there will be no turns at Ajo.

Around sunrise, once the concrete is poured, we’ll open I-19 again but close the exit and entrance ramps. You can use Irvington or 29th Street as alternative exits. By midday on Saturday, Dec. 16, we should be finished and traffic will go back to normal.

Meanwhile in Marana, crews will use Saturday and Sunday to move traffic onto new roads they built during 2017.

On I-10 Saturday night, crews will direct eastbound traffic on I-10 to the new eastbound lanes. Work has already been completed on a bridge that will carry Ina Road over the new freeway lanes. Sometime in January, westbound I-10 will also be moved to the new pavement, giving drivers three lanes in each direction.

There will be no rest on Sunday. About a mile to the west of I-10, we’ll move Ina Road traffic to a new bridge over the Santa Cruz River.

After all that holiday fun, we have big plans for celebrating the New Year. On I-10, we’ll demolish the old bridge that once carried westbound traffic, build new westbound lanes, and finish the bridge carrying Ina over the freeway and railroad tracks. On the Santa Cruz River we’ll remove the old bridge and replace it with a new two-lane bridge.

And that’s how we plan to put a bow on two of Pima County’s biggest projects for a year well spent.

Meeting to discuss I-19 frontage road alternatives in Rio Rico

Meeting to discuss I-19 frontage road alternatives in Rio Rico

I-17 101 traffic interchange

Meeting to discuss I-19 frontage road alternatives in Rio Rico

Meeting to discuss I-19 frontage road alternatives in Rio Rico

August 31, 2017

PHOENIX – Southern Arizona residents and business operators are invited to ask questions and offer comments about options for improving the Interstate 19 east frontage road between Rio Rico and Ruby Road at a public meeting on Sept. 13.

The event will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Calabasas Middle School, 131 Camino Maricopa in Rio Rico. The meeting will be an open house format with a presentation beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Community input will help determine which alternative will be selected for design and construction of improvements on the east frontage road.

During a 30-day comment period beginning Sept. 13, comments also can be submitted in these ways:

  • Call the ADOT Bilingual Project Information Line at 855.712.8530
  • Email to [email protected]
  • Mail written comments to ADOT Communications, 1655 W. Jackson St., MD 126F, Phoenix, AZ,  85007

Comments must be received by Oct. 13 to be included in the public record.

Please visit the azdot.gov/i19ruby for more information.