PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is seeking input on a project to build a freeway-to-freeway interchange between US 93 and Interstate 40 in west Kingman by hosting the agency’s first project-level virtual call-in public hearing.

Given social distancing requirements due to the current public health situation, the public will be able to call in and submit comments during this virtual hearing scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, May 28. Those who want to participate can call 833.380.0669 at the time of the event. The public hearing also will be broadcast live on KAAA-FM, KZZZ-FM and KZZZ-AM in the Kingman and Bullhead City areas.

ADOT has been conducting an environmental assessment and a preliminary design of the interchange that will create a free flow of traffic between the two highways. The draft environmental assessment is ready to share with the public and can be found online at azdot.gov/WestKingmanTIP. 

Public comments will be accepted from Thursday, May 7, through Saturday, June 6. They can be submitted through the website at azdot.gov/WestKingmanTIP, by email at [email protected], by phone at 602.474.3919 or by mail to West Kingman TI Study Team, c/o HDR Inc., 20 E. Thomas Road, Ste. 2500, Phoenix, AZ 85012.

Construction of the first phase of this interchange is slated for 2024.

For more information, please visit azdot.gov/WestKingmanTIP.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is starting a project to reconstruct the St. Anselm Road bridge over Interstate 40 at milepost 348 between US 191 and the New Mexico state line in the community of Houck.

The bridge, located on the Navajo Nation, will be closed for the duration of the project. Drivers should also expect overnight closures of I-40 during portions of  the project, with traffic using the on- and off-ramps at the St. Anselm Road interchange to exit and re-enter the freeway. 

Westbound I-40 will be closed overnight from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. beginning Monday, May 18, and continuing through the morning of Friday, May 21. Eastbound I-40 will be closed overnight from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. beginning Wednesday, May 20, and continuing through the morning of Friday, May 22.

Drivers on St. Anselm Road will need to detour along I-40 to either the Allentown Road exit or the Pine Springs Road exit and make left turns to come back to St. Anselm Road to continue on.

The closures are needed so crews can safely demolish, remove and replace the bridge deck on the St. Anselm Road bridge. 

The project is scheduled to be completed by this fall.

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

With state highways essential to delivering goods and services, ADOT, its employees and contractor partners are dedicated to delivering transportation improvement projects during the current public health situation. To learn more please visit azdot.gov/covid-19-resource-center.

PHOENIX – A project fast-tracked by the Arizona Department of Transportation will add 38 truck parking spaces to the Haviland Rest Area along I-40 west of Kingman.

Deemed an emergency project due to the current public health situation, the upgrade will allow more commercial drivers to rest as they travel long distances delivering essential supplies. The State Transportation Board awarded the $3.98 million project to Fann Contracting on Tuesday. 

ADOT is adding 22 truck parking spaces to the existing seven spaces at the eastbound rest area and 16 spaces to the existing seven spaces at the westbound rest area. The facilities are located between mileposts 22 and 23, about 25 miles southwest of Kingman. 

“This project helps everyone get safely home by making it easier for long-haul truck drivers to get the rest they need while they support our communities,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said.

The project is scheduled to start in the next week and is expected to be complete by July.

Haviland Rest Area will remain open and available for commercial vehicles and other travelers during the work.

In addition to moving this project forward to support trucking, ADOT has temporarily reopened the Parks and Christensen rest areas, located along I-40 and I-17 respectively in northern Arizona, exclusively for commercial vehicles. Governor Ducey and ADOT also raised the weight limit for commercial vehicles hauling supplies for the COVID-19 relief effort to 90,000 pounds, making it more efficient to get supplies to grocery stores and medical facilities.

For more information, please visit azdot.gov. 

PHOENIX – In partnership with Flagstaff, the Arizona Department of Transportation is starting a project this week to improve traffic flow and add capacity for bicycles and pedestrians where Fourth Street passes over Interstate 40.

The Fourth Street bridge, which is currently one lane in each direction, will be replaced with a wider bridge offering two lanes in each direction, a center turn lane and a protected path for bicycles and pedestrians on one side and a sidewalk on the other. 

ADOT will use an accelerated bridge construction technique that basically slides precast bridges into place to reduce the time needed to complete the improvement and minimize delays for residents of Flagstaff’s east side and I-40 drivers. 

In addition to the improvements at Fourth Street, this project includes a resurfaced bridge deck and repairs to the pavement approaches to the Butler Avenue bridges over I-40.

The work is scheduled to be complete by winter. 

Flagstaff is funding half of the cost of the project while also paying for project enhancements such as bridge aesthetics. The new bridge will also connect the Flagstaff Urban Trail System across the interstate. ADOT will be administering the project.

Drivers should be aware of restrictions while work occurs. Fourth Street will be narrowed to one lane overnight throughout the project, with flaggers directing traffic. Drivers on I-40 can expect single-lane closures in one direction at a time on nights and weekends throughout the project.

In midsummer, the project will require a 17-day full closure of Fourth Street over I-40 to remove the old bridge and slide the new bridges into place. There will also be a full closure of Fourth Street over two weekends during the project. ADOT will send notice in advance of these closures.

Excavation work is scheduled to begin Wednesday, April 1. Residents should expect construction-related noise around-the-clock at various times throughout the project.

For more information, visit azdot.gov/projects and click on North Central District.

PHOENIX – A new technique that basically slides precast bridges into place has greatly reduced delays for the Bellemont community with an Arizona Department of Transportation project replacing spans over Interstate 40 at Transwestern Road west of Flagstaff.

Using this technique, which the contractor proposed, allowed crews to replace the bridges during a nine-day closure of Transwestern Road over I-40 rather than having the six to eight months of restrictions required for a traditional bridge replacement project.

Joining ADOT engineers in a process called value engineering, which analyzes plans looking for ways to improve quality and value while reducing time needed to complete improvements, the contractor proposed casting the new bridges whole to the east of the existing bridges and then moving them into place in a process that works much like sliding components into place. ADOT approved the plan.

Once the new bridges were complete, crews diverted I-40 traffic to the on- and off-ramps in order to demolish the old bridges. Workers then used hydraulic jacks to lift and move the new Bellemont/Transwestern Road bridges into place. That part of the process took about four-and-a-half days.

ADOT regularly looks for accelerated bridge construction methods and other innovations that can reduce delays and inconvenience for drivers. Earlier this year, for example, the agency used a process known as a geosynthetic reinforced soil-integrated bridge system to rebuild the bridges on I-40 at Meteor City Road, creating abutments by putting in alternating layers of granular fill reinforced with synthetic material. That process also cut construction time by months.

PHOENIX – As progress continues on the Bellemont traffic interchange along Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff, the Arizona Department of Transportation will close the highway under the bridge overnight on Monday, Sept. 16, and Thursday, Sept. 19.

Eastbound I-40 will close under the overpass for the Bellemont/Transwestern Road interchange from 7 p.m. to midnight on Sept. 16, and the westbound direction will close from 7 p.m. to midnight on Sept. 19.

Traffic will detour along the off- and on-ramps while the highway is closed. Transwestern Road passing over I-40 will be closed both nights.

The project will improve the bridge deck and pavement and widen on- and off-ramps at the Interstate 40 Bellemont/Transwestern Road interchange. An eight-day closure of Transwestern Road will occur later this fall.

During closures, drivers who ordinarily would use the Bellemont/Transwestern Road interchange can use the I-40 interchanges at Parks and A-1 Mountain Boulevard.

Advance notice will be given with the dates of closures.

To learn more about this project, please visit azdot.gov/projects and click on the North Central District.

PHOENIX – An Arizona Department of Transportation project replacing the Interstate 40 bridge at Meteor City Road is using innovative techniques that get the work done faster, limit inconvenience for motorists and reduce long-term maintenance costs.

This work, which began in mid-July, is creating abutments by putting in alternating layers of granular fill reinforced with synthetic material. It’s ADOT’s first use of this technique, known as a geosynthetic reinforced soil-integrated bridge system, to rebuild an overpass.

The approach makes it possible for a bridge replacement that ordinarily would take about six months to wrap up this fall.

Bridges constructed using this method have lower maintenance costs over their life spans and also fit more seamlessly into the roadway approaches, creating a smoother transition from road to bridge.

In addition, the project is constructing a new bridge deck using a polyester polymer concrete that can be placed and cured in a matter of days rather than weeks. This new type of deck provides similar performance with lower maintenance costs compared to a traditional concrete bridge deck.

This method of constructing bridge decks is not only a first for ADOT but for the state.

In addition to replacing the bridge, crews will also reconstruct the roadway approach to the bridge.

The current detour that takes I-40 traffic onto the Meteor City Road off- and on-ramps to move through the work zone will last through mid-August.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule. To stay up to date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov or call 511.