Work started today on a project that will bring big improvements to the Tucson area by reconstructing the interchange at Interstate 10 and Ruthrauff Road.

As we shared last week, the project will improve traffic flow and safety for drivers, and it’s the third of its kind in the last several years that ADOT has undertaken in conjunction with the Pima Association of Governments.

Just like the rebuilt interchanges at Ina and Prince roads, this modern design will feature an overpass above the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. More than 40 trains a day pass through Tucson, leading to plenty of backups onto the freeway and delays for drivers on Ruthruaff. And like the Ina and Prince projects, we’ll widen I-10 near Ruthrauff Road so the highway can better serve this growing region.

If you use Ruthrauff Road, or El Camino del Cerro just west of I-10, expect periodic lane restrictions for the next several weeks. Construction activity will ramp up by late February or early March, when the Ruthrauff interchange will close.

We’ll maintain access to businesses on the frontage roads throughout the project.

We expect to complete the interchange in late 2021. Get traffic updates, detour information and project details at azdot.gov/RuthrauffTI.

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications

Driving along Interstate 10, about halfway between Tucson and Phoenix, you can see that’s something happening off to the east side of the freeway at State Route 87.

Here’s a better perspective. John Dougherty, ADOT’s newly FAA-certified drone pilot, shot this amazing video to capture the whole project from above.

In less than 10 months, crews have built nearly 4 miles of what will become the new westbound lanes of I-10, bridges over both nearby railroad tracks and the future alignment of I-10, freeway ramps and more.

When the work is done about one year from now, drivers will have six new lanes of I-10, a wider new interchange with SR 87 and a dust-detection zone, the first of its kind on US freeways.

Starting Thursday, Oct. 4, SR 87 will close between I-10 and Milligan Road so we can continue work on the new section of SR 87 and complete the new interchange. The closure is expected to continue until mid-December. Drivers can exit I-10 at Sunshine Boulevard and take Casa Grande-Picacho Highway to SR 87. There are no restrictions on I-10.

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications

The last time you went to the gym, how much weight did you lift? More than 100 pounds? 200?

More than 75 tons, anyone?

Those building a new bridge connecting Interstate 10 and State Route 87 in Eloy didn’t really lift 20 tons, of course. But 30 feet above the ground today, as two cranes lifted huge girders into place, these professionals, securely perched atop bridge piers, made sure these 145-foot girders landed in just the right spot.

And they repeated the process over and over, as shown in the slideshow above.

Precision may be difficult with a heavy girder, but it’s essential. There needs to be the right number of girders across each pier to support the bridge deck and traffic over decades. And each girder must allow room for the one that will connect to the next pier.

Today marks six months since crews began clearing ground for new lanes of I-10 and the new interchange with SR 87. Placing girders on the bridge is another visible sign that work is continuing on schedule.

The project is creating six new lanes of I-10 that will connect with the existing freeway just west and a few miles east of SR 87. Traffic will be moved to the new pavement as soon as this fall, with the entire project scheduled for completion by fall 2019. After this project and another in Casa Grande are complete, I-10 will be three lanes in each direction all the way between Casa Grande and the east side of Tucson.

By Laurie Merrill / ADOT Communications

It had been since Thanksgiving that traffic rolled along Southern Avenue in Laveen near 59th Avenue. There was a good reason for that: Crews needed to move a lot of earth to finish the first phase of a Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway interchange project and reopen this busy road.

On Monday, traffic returned to Southern Avenue between 61st Avenue and 64th Drive. You can see it in the video above and slideshow below.

It’s no stretch to say that the residents are thankful to be using Southern Avenue again. Some, including school bus drivers, waved at us as they passed today.

Other than occasional overnight closures to complete a 125-foot bridge, Southern Avenue will remain open during phase two of the work.

“While closing Southern Avenue was certainly impactful to Laveen motorists in the last few months, in the long run this freeway will alleviate some of the growing traffic congestion on local roadways,” said ADOT Resident Engineer Adam Brahm, who oversees the Salt River segment of construction on the South Mountain Freeway.

EDITOR'S NOTE: During National Engineers Week, which calls attention to the importance of engineering and career opportunities in engineering, blog posts are featuring different aspects of engineering at ADOT.

By Dustin Krugel / ADOT Communications

Graduating from the University of Arizona and joining the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Engineer in Training program in 2007, Kole Dea was determined to make a difference in the engineering world.

Eleven years later, Dea is a resident engineer with ADOT and has contributed to major freeway expansion projects including the Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway from Loop 101 to Broadway Road, the Loop 202 Santan Freeway from Interstate 10 to Gilbert Road and the State Route 24 Gateway Freeway.

"I chose engineering because I really enjoy seeing things get created out of nothing," Dea says. "I take pride in getting something done right and being responsible for it being done right and being able to see it, and give back to the traveling public."

As a resident engineer, Dea is responsible for administering construction projects and ensuring that every contractor working for ADOT follows engineering plans precisely.

His latest assignment might be his most challenging yet, as he is responsible for the I-10 Papago segment for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, the largest single highway project in Arizona history. Motorists using I-10 in the West Valley can see the results of work Dea oversees as an interchange that will connect with the South Mountain Freeway rises at 59th Avenue.

In the video above, Dea explains how the I-10 segment is one of the most technically challenging pieces of the project due to its close proximity to I-10, one of the busiest highways in the state.

More recent photo of the straddle bents and roadwork.

"The challenge in building a freeway-to-freeway interchange is we are building freeway construction over, on and below I-10; that includes bridge work above, pavement work on and drainage work below," Dea observes in the video.

With the South Mountain Freeway on track to open by late 2019, the interchange work Dea oversees have already added piers, girders and straddle bents, supports for freeway-to-freeway ramps that straddle lanes of traffic.

According to Dea, there’s no typical day for a resident engineer on a major freeway project. Some days are spent in the field inspecting the work being completed, while others involve a significant amount of time behind a desk or laptop dealing with administrative records.

"Every day brings new challenges and new opportunities to succeed," Dea says.

By John Dougherty / ADOT Communications

Just in time for the month that celebrates creepy crawly things, we found a spider web at the Ina Road Interchange project in Marana. In the background, you can see the yellow boom that supplies concrete for the bridge deck.

ADOT is a building modern traffic interchange at Ina Road and Interstate 10 to help traffic flow efficiently through the growing area. Crews have completed more than half of the work on the west side of I-10 and will move to the east side of the freeway in early 2018.

Art of Transportation
We think there is beauty in transportation. It’s not all hard hats and pavement. Art of Transportation is a blog series featuring unique photos our team has taken while on the road or on a construction project.

By John Dougherty and Mike Harris / ADOT Communications

There's lots to see and lots going on at I-10 and 59th Avenue in west Phoenix, where an interchange under construction will link with the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

Because we hope you've been concentrating on the road – and slowing down – through the construction zone, we're sharing these videos and images highlighting progress to date.

In the YouTube video at right, Kole Dea, ADOT's senior resident engineer overseeing the I-10 Papago segment of the South Mountain Freeway, explains the interchange work. We also offered a news release this week providing details. Last week, we shared how a support structure known as a straddle bent will be an important part of the interchange.

There's so more to explore, and that's why we're sharing the slideshow below and embedding the two videos. We hope you'll enjoy the sights and sounds from this important project.

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications

There will be no Waterford crystal coming to rest as the clock approaches midnight on Friday. No all-night parties (as far as I know). No Auld Lang Syne.

But make no mistake: July 1 is New Year’s Day 2018. Arizona’s new fiscal year begins at the stroke of midnight.

And it’s going to be a very busy year in Pinal County, at least for the Arizona Department of Transportation. Four major projects will begin in the next few months, with a dramatic effect not only on Pinal County but on the motorists and commercial truckers who drive through the county on their way to, from and through Phoenix and Tucson.

In Maricopa, we’ll begin work this fall on a bridge (see the animation above) that will help drivers avoid waiting as dozens of trains cross State Route 347 every day. The two-year project will open up traffic in the area but will be built for at least the first year with little or no disruption to traffic on SR 347.

About 30 miles to the southeast, we’re now advertising for bids to build two important projects on Interstate 10 near Eloy. The first will widen a four-mile section of I-10 to six lanes and rebuild the interchange with State Route 87, an important route to Coolidge, Florence and the center of the county. At the same time, in almost the same place, ADOT crews will begin creating a first-of-its-kind dust detection and alert system that is designed to help protect drivers from dust storms in the spot where there are more dust-related crashes than anyplace in Arizona. Both projects will take about two years to complete.

And just as the rest of the world is celebrating that other New Year’s Eve, we’ll begin work to widen another I-10 stretch north of Interstate 8. That will mean every inch of I-10’s key commerce corridor between the Casa Grande and Tucson areas will be six lanes by 2021.

There are big highway projects all across Arizona, all of them important. But with these four projects alone, ADOT is providing an economic boost over the next few years in Arizona’s third most-populous county. It’s going to be a very good year.

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications

ADOT is on track with a two-year project to rebuild the Ina Road at I-10 into a traffic interchange that will improve traffic flow and safety. As the video above shows, the job site is buzzing with activity.

Right now, we’re preparing for new bridges over the Santa Cruz River, building pillars that will carry Ina Road over I-10 and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. We’re also preparing to add a lane in each direction along both eastbound I-10 and along Ina west of I-10.

When we’re done, Marana and northern Pima County will have a modern, efficient interchange very much like the one at Prince Road. We’re on schedule to reopen Ina Road in early 2019. You can access neighboring businesses throughout the project.