PHOENIX – Big changes are in store for the Interstate 10 traffic interchange at 59th Avenue in west Phoenix. Built in 1984, it’s being reconstructed to eventually link to the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway when it opens to traffic in late 2019.

Motorists who regularly travel I-10 between the West Valley and downtown Phoenix have already noticed an ever-changing landscape.

Large cranes are parked in the median, tower-like structures rise at the site to carry bridges above I-10, heavy construction equipment is moving massive amounts of earth along I-10 and traffic lanes are temporarily shifted.

All of this is needed to build a new freeway-to-freeway interchange, also known as a system interchange, so motorists will be able to seamlessly connect from I-10 in the West Valley to a 22-mile-long South Mountain Freeway offering direct access to the East Valley.

The interchange will include five non-stop flyover ramps, new roadways parallel to I-10 between 51st and 67th avenues that will replace direct freeway access to 59th Avenue and improve traffic flow, and new auxiliary lanes that will feed traffic to the new freeway-to-freeway interchange. There will also be extensive resurfacing of I-10, new drainage structures, and new retaining and barrier walls.

This work isn’t easy, as this stretch of I-10 is the most heavily traveled in the state, used daily by more than 200,000 vehicles.

“The challenge in building a freeway-to-freeway or system interchange is we are building freeway construction over, on and below I-10,” said Kole Dea, the Arizona Department of Transportation senior resident engineer overseeing the I-10 Papago segment of the South Mountain Freeway. “That includes bridge work above, pavement work on and drainage work below.”

For Connect 202 Partners – the developer responsible for building the South Mountain Freeway – to complete this work safely, frequent lane restrictions and closures of I-10 are needed. But these are reserved for overnights and weekends, when traffic volumes are much lower. Over the last couple of months, for example, several weekend closures were required to build a large concrete structure over I-10 called a straddle bent, which will straddle existing travel lanes to support flyover ramps.

“There is never a good time to close a freeway, particularly one as busy as I-10, but it’s absolutely necessary to ensure the safety of the traveling public and construction workers building the new South Mountain Freeway interchange,” Dea added.

During construction, motorists should slow down, obey the speed limit and consider alternatives such as carpooling and transit.

The South Mountain Freeway will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to I-10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, the South Mountain Freeway will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley.

For more information on the South Mountain Freeway, visit SouthMountainFreeway.com.

PHOENIX – Creating the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway’s interchange with Interstate 10 in west Phoenix is no small feat of engineering, starting with the need to have supports for flyover ramps to straddle existing lanes of traffic.

As is the case at other freeway-to-freeway interchanges around the Valley, this is being done with a structure known as a straddle bent. It is an alternative when a typical one-column pier carrying a ramp would need to be in the middle of an existing roadway. Instead, the straddle bent has multiple columns supporting a wide top, or cap, that in turn supports a ramp.

In construction, “bent” refers to a structure providing lateral as well as vertical support. The first South Mountain Freeway straddle bent, over the westbound lanes of I-10 near 59th Avenue, has two columns supporting a 140-foot-wide, 12-foot-high cap. On its own, it looks a bit like a giant concrete soccer goal.

Straddle bents are part of the freeway connections Valley motorists use every day. The flyover ramp from eastbound I-10 to northbound State Route 51 (Piestewa Freeway) in central Phoenix has a bent straddling the westbound lanes of I-10, while HOV ramp connections between those two freeways use three straddle bents over westbound I-10.

In all, seven straddle bents will be part of the South Mountain Freeway connection with the I-10 Papago Freeway, with the first going up after a series of weekend and overnight closures to allow large cranes to work.

This past weekend, Connect 202 Partners, the South Mountain Freeway developer, poured more than 400 cubic yards of concrete to complete the bent just east of the current I-10/59th Avenue interchange. The falsework that held the structure in place prior to the concrete pour will be removed in the near future.

In order to safely construct the seven straddle bents for the new I-10/Loop 202 system interchange at 59th Avenue, intermittent lane restrictions and closures of I-10 are needed regularly. Fortunately, ADOT minimizes the inconvenience to the traveling public by scheduling as much work as possible during non-peak hours, but because some of the work is occurring directly above the existing I-10, full closures are often necessary for the safety of motorists and construction crews.

Once the straddle bent structures are built, girders will be placed to create future ramps that will provide connections to and from the South Mountain Freeway.

The 22-mile South Mountain Freeway, expected to open by late 2019, will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to I-10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, the South Mountain Freeway will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley.

PHOENIX – With the city of Phoenix set to open its Chandler Boulevard extension between 27th and 19th avenues at 8:30 a.m. Friday, July 28, Pecos Road west of 17th Avenue will close permanently for construction of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

Westbound Pecos Road traffic will divert north at 17th Avenue, and the Chandler Boulevard extension will provide access to and from the Foothills Reserve Community, which motorists now reach via Pecos Road.

In the coming weeks, crews will remove the existing pavement on Pecos Road, clear and remove trees, brush and rubbish, and install drainage pipes so that freeway construction can occur on the one-mile stretch between South Chandler Boulevard and 17th Avenue.

South Chandler Boulevard will also be closing permanently south of Cottonwood Lane.

Pecos Road east of 17th Avenue will remain open during South Mountain Freeway construction until the final stages of the project, when local traffic will shift to the new freeway lanes.

The South Mountain Freeway, which is scheduled to open by late 2019, will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to Interstate 10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, it will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system.

You can stay informed about the South Mountain Freeway project and sign up for updates and weekly traffic alerts at SouthMountainFreeway.com.

PHOENIX – To construct Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway in the Ahwatukee Foothills, crews have been using heavy equipment since April to excavate a hillside near Desert Foothills Parkway.

While this method has been effective thus far at removing rock, Connect 202 Partners, the developer responsible for building the 22-mile-long freeway for the Arizona Department of Transportation, anticipates that controlled rock blasting will be necessary in some locations beginning in August.  It is currently anticipated controlled blasting will take place in areas west of 24th Street and beyond Desert Foothills Parkway.

Controlled rock blasting uses small amounts of timed charges to break rock into smaller, more manageable pieces. The broken rock will then be removed and used as fill throughout the Pecos Road segment of the freeway. Controlled rock blasting is a standard construction technique used in many areas of the nation for many years without damage to property.

Connect 202 Partners will ensure that ground vibrations from controlled rock blasting using modern techniques comply with local and federal safety and ground vibration standards, which are in place to avoid any impact to structures. Any blasting activities will be in accordance with industry best practices using only proven and safe methods.

“Controlled rock blasting has been used to shape essential roadways throughout the world, including the initial construction of Pecos Road previously,” said Rob Samour, ADOT’s senior deputy state engineer for major projects. “Connect 202 Partners has hired an experienced team, including a blasting engineer, blasting consultant and vibration monitoring expert with close to 100 years of combined blasting experience in Arizona and across the United States.”

While controlled rock blasting activities will not result in any damage to nearby structures, Connect 202 Partners invited property owners within a half-mile of the area where controlled blasting may be used to participate in a free home survey to document their homes’ current structural condition.

Connect 202 Partners has hired Aimone-Martin Associates, which specializes in blasting and vibration monitoring and has extensive experience working in residential areas in Arizona, to conduct the surveys. The firm also uses seismographs to ensure that ground vibration is within allowable levels and provide a second level of assurance for homeowners.

To ensure the safety of motorists using Pecos Road and Desert Foothills Parkway, there will be temporary traffic restrictions during blasting activities. Message board signs on Pecos Road and Desert Foothills Parkway will provide advance notice of any traffic restrictions.

The 22-mile freeway, expected to open by late 2019, will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to I-10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, the South Mountain Freeway will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley.

For more information on controlled rock blasting, visit SouthMountainFreeway.com/Pecos.

PHOENIX – With Pecos Road shifted to make room for the next phase of construction of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, the Arizona Department of Transportation is reminding motorists that a reduced 40 mph speed limit is in place through the entire segment of this local roadway in the Ahwatukee Foothills.

Last weekend, Pecos Road traffic between 17th Avenue and 24th Street shifted to an alignment that maintains two travel lanes in each direction while ensuring there’s a safe work zone to construct the freeway. 

For this shift, which follows a similar reconfiguration in April of Pecos Road between 24th and 40th streets, the former eastbound lanes were widened and restriped to accommodate traffic in both directions, with a double yellow line between.

The reduced speed limit allows for two-way traffic on the interim Pecos Road after the median and shoulders were removed to ensure there would be two lanes of traffic in each direction during freeway construction, which is occurring just north of Pecos Road on the opposite side of the concrete barricades.

In the coming weeks, crews will rip up the former westbound lanes of Pecos Road, which are located within the footprint of the freeway. In addition, crews will start clearing and removing trees, brushes and rubbish, installing pipes and beginning the initial earthwork needed to build the freeway.

Scheduled to open in late 2019, the South Mountain Freeway will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to Interstate 10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, it will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system.

To stay informed about the South Mountain Freeway project and sign up for updates and weekly traffic alerts, please visit SouthMountainFreeway.com.

PHOENIX – Pecos Road between 17th Avenue and 24th Street is shifting to an interim alignment for Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway construction.

During a weekend closure ending in time for the morning commute on Monday, July 17, the current eastbound lanes of Pecos Road will be widened and restriped to maintain two lanes of traffic in each direction along this nearly four-mile-long stretch in the Ahwatukee Foothills. 

In April, the Arizona Department of Transportation and Connect 202 Partners, the developer responsible for building the South Mountain Freeway, shifted Pecos Road to this configuration between 40th and 24th streets.

Moving both directions of travel slightly to the south creates a safe work zone for freeway construction while allowing local traffic to continue using Pecos Road.

The following closure will take place from 10 p.m. Friday, July 14, to 5 a.m. Monday, July 17, to install temporary traffic signals, restripe the roadway and place barricades:

• Pecos Road eastbound and westbound closed between 24th Street and 17th Avenue, with Chandler Boulevard and Ray Road as alternate routes.

In the interim Pecos Road alignment, the speed limit is reduced to 40 mph to accommodate two-way traffic, a double-yellow line separates the directions of travel and there are no shoulders.

Once construction is complete in the Pecos segment, traffic will move to the new freeway lanes in the final stages of the project. The entire South Mountain Freeway is scheduled to open in late 2019.

The South Mountain Freeway will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to Interstate 10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, it will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system.

You can stay informed about the South Mountain Freeway project and sign up for updates and weekly traffic alerts at SouthMountainFreeway.com.

PHOENIX – The Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway continues taking shape with the installation of bridge girders, together weighing more than two Boeing 747 jets, at the future interchange with 17th Avenue in the Ahwatukee Foothills.

The girders are the first placed for the Arizona Department of Transportation’s South Mountain Freeway project, which will require a total of nearly 1,100 girders on 40 bridge structures throughout the 22-mile-long corridor.

During three overnight closures for the work completed this weekend at 17th Avenue, two 450-ton cranes lifted and placed each of the 17 steel-reinforced concrete girders, which are 145 feet long and weigh up to 131,000 pounds. Each girder took about an hour to hoist and place. 

Crews will return in August to pour concrete to form the bridge deck.

With girder placement complete at the 17th Avenue interchange, crews are set to place 16 girders this week at the 40th Street overpass, also in the Pecos corridor.

Overnight closures of 40th Street between Briarwood Terrace and Pecos Road are needed from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday-Wednesday, July 10-12, to place bridge girders for the 40th Street interchange.

The South Mountain Freeway, which is scheduled to open in late 2019, will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to Interstate 10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, it will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system.

You can stay informed about the South Mountain Freeway project and sign up for updates and weekly traffic alerts at SouthMountainFreeway.com.

PHOENIX – Several major milestones on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway project will require some extended closures of roadways in Ahwatukee during the month of July, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. 

Following the Fourth of July holiday, the first girders will be set on the new bridges over 17th Avenue and 40th Street. In mid-July, crews will shift Pecos Road traffic between 24th Street and 17th Avenue to an interim roadway following a similar reconfiguration that took place between 40th and 24th streets in April.

Motorists who travel regularly on Pecos Road need to plan ahead to avoid the following closures of these local routes:

• 17th Avenue between Liberty Lane and Pecos Road will close overnight to set bridge girders for the new 17th Avenue traffic interchange from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. on July 5 and 6 (and July 7, if needed).
• 40th Street between Briarwood Terrace and Pecos Road will close overnight to place bridge girders for the new 40th Street traffic interchange from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. on July 9 and 10 (and July 11, if needed).
• Pecos Road between 24th Street and 17th Avenue will close in both directions from 10 p.m. Friday, July 14 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 17, to allow crews to widen eastbound Pecos Road for an interim roadway to maintain two lanes of traffic in each direction.

During the closures, motorists may also want to consider alternate routes, such as Ray Road or Chandler Boulevard.

The South Mountain Freeway, which is scheduled to open in late 2019, will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to Interstate 10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, it will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system.

You can stay informed about the South Mountain Freeway project and sign up for updates and weekly traffic alerts at SouthMountainFreeway.com.

PHOENIX ‒ Cases of chilled bottled water, protective lightweight clothing, sun visors and shaded tent areas, coupled with mandatory training on dealing with extreme heat, are just some of the ways crews building the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway are prepared for temperatures forecast to surge beyond 110.

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for the Valley beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 17. While everyone needs to be prepared for the heat, soaring temperatures can be especially dangerous for roadway maintenance and construction workers, in part because temperatures on asphalt or concrete are 15-20 degrees higher than the air temperature.

That’s why crews from Connect 202 Partners, the developer responsible for building the 22-mile South Mountain Freeway, are putting safety first and taking extra precautions that the public can follow as well.

ADOT, along with its construction contractors, trains employees to know that exposure to summer heat can be life-threatening if not treated properly. Highway workers are taught to monitor themselves and their co-workers for signs of heat-related stress and to use common sense when working in the sun.

“Arizona heat poses a serious challenge to our workers and heat injuries are a potential hazard for our road crews, so ADOT, its employees and contractors have to be diligent in monitoring for signs of heat-illness and use common sense,” said Julie Gadsby, ADOT assistant district engineer on the South Mountain Freeway team. “ADOT does a good job of preventing heat illnesses through a variety of ways, including keeping workers hydrated, starting the work day earlier to avoid some of the extreme temperatures, and having workers that are trained and knowledgeable to recognize heat stress symptoms early.”

More than 1,500 construction workers on the South Mountain Freeway project have completed a mandatory heat stress training class. They learn the signs and symptoms of heat injury, and to observe proper work practices that include drinking enough fluids, taking adequate rest breaks and knowing first-aid procedures when someone becomes ill from the heat.

Connect 202 Partners is providing shaded areas and cold bottled water with electrolyte powder, while certified emergency medical technicians are available. EMTs can conduct medical monitoring such as checking blood pressure, heart rate, respiration and temperature.

These strategies used by ADOT can help everyone address the effects of the heat:

• If possible, start work earlier in the day and finish before the hottest hours of the afternoon. Use a buddy system with each watching the other for early signs of heat illness.
• Stay hydrated with cool drinking water.
• Have sun protection including a hat, a light-colored and long-sleeved shirt, and sunscreen.
• Those without experience working in hot environments should acclimate over several days by taking extra time to rest and stay hydrated.

The 22-mile South Mountain Freeway, expected to open by late 2019, will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to I-10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, the South Mountain Freeway will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley.

For more information on the South Mountain Freeway, visit SouthMountainFreeway.com.