PHOENIX – Recognizing the importance of Interstate 40 for commercial trucks and travelers, the Arizona Department of Transportation has invested $275.2 million in bridge improvements, pavement projects and other safety-related projects along the 360-mile corridor over the past five years.

Since 2016, ADOT has replaced pavement on about 90 miles of I-40, which includes rebuilding 5 miles of the interstate in each direction near Williams, and repaired, upgraded or replaced 35 bridges along the corridor. 

“We know the value I-40 brings to Arizona as well as the rest of the country, and making sure this vital roadway continues to be safe for all motorists is our first priority” said Dallas Hammit, ADOT’s deputy director for transportation. “That’s why we continually invest in extending the life of bridges along the corridor and replacing pavement that gets damaged over years of heavy traffic use and winter weather exposure.”

Many of the repaved sections of I-40 have been in the higher elevation areas between Flagstaff and Williams that have seen a lot of damage due to winter weather. The Kingman area has seen about 30 miles of I-40 repaved through various projects.

Work along the I-40 corridor continues today. ADOT is currently replacing pavement along 10 miles of I-40 from I-17 to Walnut Canyon Road and improving 16 more bridges spread out along the interstate from California to New Mexico. Pavement maintenance work continues along the interstate as well.

Over the past few years, several bridges along I-40 have had significant upgrades or been outright replaced using innovative construction methods that save either time or money or both. The bridge slide method of “sliding” a new bridge into place of an old one using hydraulic jacks has been used to replace the Fourth Street bridge in Flagstaff and the Bellemont bridges west of Flagstaff. 

Other significant bridge improvements include replacing the I-40 bridge decks at the interchange with I-17 in Flagstaff. 

Bridges and road surfaces aren’t the only things to be improved over the last five years. In continuing to support commerce, ADOT has made improvements to rest areas along I-40 including Haviland Rest Area west of Kingman and Painted Cliffs Rest Area near the New Mexico state line. Improvements are currently underway at Meteor Crater Rest Area. 

Truck parking was also permanently expanded by nearly 100 spaces at the Haviland and Meteor Crater rest areas last year.

Looking toward the future, ADOT is in the process of planning a new traffic interchange between I-40 and US 93 in west Kingman as well as more pavement replacement projects west of Ash Fork.

For more information, visit azdot.gov.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is starting a project to repave a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 40 between I-17 and Walnut Canyon Road in Flagstaff. This project will improve safety and extend the life of the highway.

The work will include replacing the existing pavement in both directions of I-40 and replacing pavement on the on- and off-ramps at four intersections in the project area. Work will also include making repairs to bridge decks along the 10-mile stretch and repairing guardrail as needed.

During construction, portions of the roadway will be reduced to a single lane. Motorists should expect slower traffic and delays. Additionally, motorists can expect some night work with on- and off-ramp closures while the ramps are being paved. 

The project is expected to last two seasons with an anticipated completion date of fall 2022.

Since 2017, ADOT has replaced pavement on 29 miles of I-40 west of Flagstaff and rebuilt 5 miles of the interstate in each direction west of Williams. ADOT has also rebuilt and repaved 28 miles of northbound I-17 south of Flagstaff. 

These projects repair the damage done over time to the highway from winter storms and heavy use by commercial vehicles.

For more information, visit azdot.gov/projects and click on the Northwest District.

PHOENIX – With warmer weather coming to Arizona’s high country, the Arizona Department of Transportation is ramping up construction projects to improve safety and extend the life of the infrastructure.

In the Flagstaff area, ADOT has already started projects to replace the Interstate 40 bridges over Business 40 which connects to Historic Route 66 in west Flagstaff. The project, which is approximately 3 miles west of the junction with Interstate 17, will replace the east- and westbound bridges on I-40 in their entirety. The project is anticipated to be completed by fall of 2022.

Also ongoing in the Flagstaff area is the project to replace the Rio de Flag bridge near Flagstaff City Hall. The work, which involves the use of precast bridge components to significantly reduce the amount of traffic restrictions during the project, will be completed later this summer. 

Starting in April, ADOT will begin a project to pave I-40 between I-17 and Walnut Canyon Road in east Flagstaff. Work will include repaving both east- and westbound I-40, including the ramps at four interchanges. Crews will also make repairs to bridge decks within the project area and replace guardrail as needed. This project will last two seasons and is anticipated to be completed by fall of 2022.

In May, a pavement replacement project in the Show Low area will see 6 miles of US 60 and 5 miles of SR 260 repaved with new pavement. The work will take place overnights during the week. Other work includes installing new guardrail, curb and gutter and sidewalks. 

This summer, a minor modernization project for the intersection of SR 89A and SR 179 in Sedona will see the replacement of pavement as well as striping and signage to the roundabout. Traffic will continue to have access during construction and work will be completed by the fall.

In the northwest corner of the state, ADOT is currently working on replacing Bridge No. 1 along I-15. Work includes replacing the abutment foundations, piers and the bridge deck of Bridge No. 1. New pavement, pavement markings, guardrail and signage are also included in the project. Work is anticipated to be completed by spring of 2024.

For more information, visit azdot.gov/projects.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is starting a project to replace the Interstate 40 bridges over Business 40, which connects the interstate to Historic Route 66 in west Flagstaff. 

The project, which is approximately 3 miles west of the junction with Interstate 17, will replace the east- and westbound bridges on I-40 in their entirety. This will require closures of the eastbound on- and off-ramps, as well as the crossroad under the bridges, beginning Monday, March 15, and continuing through October. Traffic will be detoured to Flagstaff Ranch Road to access I-40.

“This project continues our work to replace and rehabilitate I-40 bridges in the Flagstaff area,” said Audra Merrick, district engineer for the Northcentral District. “Through this work, we can extend the lives of these bridges and keep commerce flowing along this vital corridor.”

Throughout construction, a minimum of one lane of traffic in each direction will be maintained. The project is anticipated to be completed by fall 2022.

Over the last few years, ADOT has replaced or rehabilitated a few I-40 bridges in the Flagstaff area, including the I-40 bridges over Beulah Boulevard and over I-17 as well as the Fourth Street bridge in east Flagstaff. Work to replace the Rio de Flag Bridge on Business 40 in Flagstaff is currently under construction.

ADOT has also replaced the Bellemont bridges at I-40 and Hughes Avenue, formerly Transwestern Road, west of Flagstaff and the bridges on I-40 at Meteor City Road, east of Flagstaff.

For more information, visit azdot.gov/projects and click on the Northcentral District.

PHOENIX – In order to increase safety and mobility in highway work zones, the Arizona Department of Transportation is studying a “smart work zone” at an existing I-40 bridge project located between Flagstaff and Winslow.

A smart work zone is a traffic management system that can be controlled remotely through computer networks, portable message boards and sensor technology to provide motorists with real-time traffic information as they approach construction work zones. This project utilizes a dynamic merge system, which is a specific type of smart work zone.

The dynamic merge system is designed to mitigate the potential hazards of lane closures by altering the time to merge based on the current level of traffic. When traffic is light, electronic signs placed well ahead of the work zone encourage drivers to merge into the open lane prior to the lane closure. When traffic is heavy, the system will encourage drivers to remain in the closed lane for as long as possible in what is known as a zipper merge.

ADOT has been utilizing the zipper merge on various projects since 2016. The zipper merge works by having drivers remain in their lanes and merge just before the lane closure begins. It’s a more efficient way of moving heavy traffic through a work zone where a lane is closed.

In order to study the potential impact a dynamic merge system can have on safety and mobility in a highway construction work zone, ADOT picked an existing bridge deck rehabilitation project on I-40 at the Two Guns and Meteor Crater bridges as a test site. 

ADOT set up a dynamic merge smart work zone in the westbound direction and a traditional work zone in the eastbound direction in order to compare the effectiveness of a dynamic merge system.

Drivers passing through the work zone toward Flagstaff from Winslow should follow instructions on when to merge through electronic message signs.

Crash data and speed data will be gathered from the smart work zone and traditional work zone and used to evaluate the impact and inform decisions on future highway projects.

ADOT used something similar during a recent project to rehabilitate three I-15 bridges in the Virgin River Gorge. The queue warning system, as it was called, included portable message boards informing drivers of stop-and-go traffic ahead. That system, like this one on I-40, used equipment that detected traffic in real-time in an effort to help reduce collisions and improve safety and mobility.

PHOENIX – The Meteor Crater Rest Area on Interstate 40 between Flagstaff and Winslow in northern Arizona has closed for a nearly $3.5 million renovation project that’s expected to be completed by the fall.

While closed to the traveling public, the rest area will remain open for commercial truck parking only. Message signs placed on I-40 in each direction approaching the rest area will advise drivers of this.

Work planned for the rest area, located at milepost 235, includes upgrades to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, improvements to the water/wastewater system, as well as architectural, electrical, mechanical rehabilitation and site work.  

During the closure, the nearest traveler facilities will be in Flagstaff and Winslow. 

This work is part of a project that included the renovation of the Painted Cliffs Rest Area on I-40 near the New Mexico state line. That work was completed last September.

PHOENIX – While 2020 presented many challenges, the Arizona Department of Transportation continued to serve drivers in northern Arizona by using different methods, including the innovative bridge slide, to improve bridges to keep cross-country commerce flowing and increase the mobility of local traffic.

In Flagstaff, ADOT completed the replacement of the Fourth Street bridge over Interstate 40 on the east side of town in just six months using the innovative bridge slide method. The slide method allowed ADOT to construct the bridges to one side, then slide them into place over one long closure which greatly reduced the impact to the traveling public.

The new bridge improves safety, traffic flow and mobility in the area by increasing the number of lanes for vehicles to use and adding a protected path for bicycles and pedestrians on one side of the bridge. The protected path connects the Flagstaff Urban Trail System across the interstate.

Along Interstate 15 through the Virgin River Gorge, ADOT resurfaced the decks of Bridge No. 2 and Bridge No. 5, while Bridge No. 4 received a new deck. Work was completed this summer after important additional repairs were made. These improvements will ensure the continued life of these bridges to safely move cars and trucks cross-country.

For this project, ADOT used a first-of-its-kind queue warning system that included portable message boards informing drivers of stop-and-go traffic ahead. Using equipment that detects traffic in real-time, the system is designed to help reduce collisions as traffic builds.

ADOT also improved the Interstate 17 bridge over McConnell Drive as you come into Flagstaff. The project, which began in 2019, involved a full bridge deck replacement, bridge widening and sidewalk construction on the north side of McConnell Drive.

For more ways on how ADOT continues to serve drivers in northern Arizona, visit azdot.gov/projects and click on the North Central District.