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. 

The agency also used a fast, cost-effective process to rebuild the bridges on I-40 at Meteor City Road, creating new abutments that integrate into the roadway with a reinforced soil foundation. Both methods cut construction time by months.

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.

Wildfire season is one more reason for drivers to use extra care. 

Don’t let your vehicle be the cause of a wildfire. 

As warm, dry weather settles into our state, the Arizona Department of Transportation is urging drivers to use extra care with their vehicles to reduce the chance of igniting a wildfire. 

Motorists should take preventative measures to reduce the risk that a spark from a vehicle or trailer doesn’t result in dry vegetation catching fire. A few tips include:

• Dragging chains while something is being towed can cause sparks; Check and fasten the chains before starting your trip.
• Make sure nothing is hanging under your vehicle or dragging on the pavement.
• Check tire pressure before traveling. If a tire is with less air pressure, the tire can cause sparks.
• Do not park where there is tall grass since the heat from the bottom of the vehicle can cause a fire.

In some areas of the state, ADOT overhead message boards will carry wildfire safety reminders with some listing AM radio frequencies that offer more localized wildfire information. 

For more information on preventing brush fires, visit focusondriving.com. The Arizona Interagency Wildfire Prevention website wildlandfire.az.gov/ provides information about active fires.

 

PHOENIX – The conditions of pavement and bridges on Arizona’s interstate freeways rank among the nation’s best in an annual report by a nonprofit transportation research group. 

Washington, D.C.-based TRIP says that while interstate freeways across the country face increasing congestion and need significant investments for expansion and repair, just 2% of Arizona’s interstate pavement was in poor condition and 1% of bridges were in poor condition. Arizona ranked well within the upper half of states in terms of interstate pavement listed in poor condition, while only five states had lower percentages of interstate bridges listed in poor condition. 

The Arizona Department of Transportation’s latest figures show 1.1% of pavement on the state’s interstate freeways was considered in poor condition. Meanwhile, 0.9% of bridges ADOT maintains on all state highways were rated in poor condition. A poor rating does not mean a bridge is unsafe; it means repair needs have been identified in the bridge’s deck, superstructure or substructure.

“We have worked diligently to maximize the funding Arizonans allocate for transportation to deliver the safest and most reliable highway system possible,” said Dallas Hammit, ADOT’s state engineer and deputy director for transportation. 

Despite Arizona’s strong standing in the TRIP report, challenges loom.

As people drive less and stay home more amid the current public health situation, ADOT is evaluating the short- and long-term revenue implications to the Highway User Revenue Fund, a major source of funding for projects and improvements. ADOT is committed to providing a fiscally constrained construction program with prudent financial management in the months and years ahead. 

With ADOT responsible for 28,000 lane miles and 6,800 center-line miles of highway, available funding in recent years has meant that a smaller share of pavement on all state highways is considered in good versus fair condition.

Over a nine-year period, the share of pavement considered in good condition has fallen from 72% to 48% on interstate freeways, from 68% to 32% on non-interstate national highway system highways and from 44% to 19% on state highways that aren’t part of the national highway system. This drop in pavement condition is expected to worsen with time, if funding levels remain the same, as the deterioration is occurring at exponential rates.

Among the state highway system's 4,800 bridges, the share rated in good condition has fallen from 78% to 59% in recent years.

Arizona’s relatively dry and mild climate helps pavement and bridges last longer before major repairs are needed. Bridge and pavement conditions also are inspected on a regular basis. Overall, Arizona’s highway system is relatively young, including the freeways and bridges carrying higher volumes of traffic on Phoenix-area freeways. As the pavements and bridges age, the cost and effort of maintaining them increases. 

PHOENIX – Two sections of pavement along Loop 202 (Santan Freeway) are much smoother to drive on following an Arizona Department of Transportation improvement project.

Crews worked in recent weeks to remove the worn top layer of rubberized asphalt along most of the eastbound Loop 202 lanes between Interstate 10 and Loop 101 (Price Freeway). Specialized machines, which include rotating diamond-tipped blades, smoothed the remaining concrete base pavement in a process known as diamond grinding.

The pavement improvements also were done along eastbound on- and off-ramps at the Kyrene Road and McClintock Drive interchanges. The contractor used as many as three diamond grinding machines to save time as the work progressed on weekends and weeknights since late February.

Diamond grinding also was done along the westbound Loop 202’s right lanes and exit ramp approaching Kyrene Road. Those lanes and ramp also had especially worn rubberized asphalt that had been in place for more than 15 years.

Separate work is scheduled Saturday, April 4, along the eastbound Santan Freeway. Eastbound Loop 202 will be narrowed to two left lanes between I-10 and McClintock Drive from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on April 4 for crack sealing. Both of the primary I-10 ramps to eastbound Loop 202 will be closed while the eastbound I-10 HOV lane ramp to eastbound Loop 202 will remain open to traffic. The eastbound Loop 202 off- and on-ramps at Kyrene Road and off-ramp at McClintock Drive will be closed. Drivers can consider using eastbound US 60 (Superstition Freeway) or Chandler Boulevard as alternate routes.

ADOT will make additional pavement improvements along Loop 202 east of I-10 in April. As has been done on a number of other Valley freeways in recent years, an asphalt seal will be placed on the remaining rubberized asphalt in that area to extend the life of that existing pavement. The fog seal work is scheduled on Sunday, April 5, and will require a closure of westbound Loop 202 between Loop 101 and I-10.