PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is hosting virtual public meetings this week to gather public input on the master plans for the Milton Road and US 180 corridors in Flagstaff.

The public meeting for the Milton Road Corridor Master Plan will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Residents can join the meeting by visiting azdot.gov/MiltonCorridorMasterPlan. 

The public meeting for the US 180 Corridor Master Plan will be held on Thursday, Nov. 19, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Residents can join the meeting by visiting azdot.gov/US180CorridorMasterPlan. 

The public is encouraged to use the above websites to submit comments via an online survey. All comments on these studies will need to be received by Dec. 4. Questions and comments may also be submitted by emailing [email protected] and [email protected]. Members of the public can also submit comments by phone by calling 602-522-7777.

The purpose of the corridor master plans, which are being developed concurrently with one another, is to create a 20-year vision for the two busy transportation corridors that address current and future safety, traffic congestion and transit issues by evaluating previously recommended and newly introduced alternatives. This includes a mix of alternatives that use and maintain the existing roadways as well as alternatives that would require widening the roadways.

Milton Road, also known as SR 89A, is the primary corridor coming into Flagstaff. US 180, locally known as Humphreys Street and Fort Valley Road, is the primary corridor to Arizona Snowbowl and other snow play areas. The highway is also an alternate route to SR 64 and the Grand Canyon.

For more information on these studies, visit azdot.gov/MiltonCorridorMasterPlan and azdot.gov/US180CorridorMasterPlan.

PHOENIX ‒ A report describing how the Arizona Department of Transportation reduced the potential routes for the proposed Sonoran Corridor from dozens of options to three recommended for further study, along with the no-build alternative, is now available for review and comment.

The Sonoran Corridor Draft Corridor Selection Report explains how factors such as growth, economic benefits, environmental impacts and feasibility contributed to identifying these alternatives in the Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement.

Public comment on the report is invited through Monday, April 22. Public comment on a public meeting held March 7 in Tucson is invited through Sunday, April 7.

The Sonoran Corridor would connect Interstate 10 and Interstate 19 south of Tucson International Airport. The Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement, which started in May 2017, evaluates multiple 2,000-foot-wide corridors and the no-build option. A Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement is expected in late 2019 with a preferred alternative for public review. A Tier 1 Final Environmental Impact Statement is expected by spring 2020.

The next phase would include a Tier 2 study to locate an approximately 400-foot-wide route within corridor identified as the preferred alternative. The timeline and funding for the Tier 2 study haven’t been identified.

ADOT has held four public meetings about the Sonoran Corridor over the past two years. Comments received at those meetings are included in the draft Corridor Selection Report and are being considered along with input from area businesses and governments, including Pima County and the cities of Tucson and Sahuarita.

To see the draft reports, visit azdot.gov/Sonoran Corridor. Click on the Documents tab to see the draft Corridor Selection Report, and click on the Alternatives tab to see a map of the three corridors that have been recommended for further study. A no-build option also remains under consideration.

The public can submit questions or comments in the following ways:

• Email: [email protected]
• Phone:  The ADOT Bilingual Project Information Line: 855.712.8530 
• Mail:  Sonoran Corridor Tier 1 EIS Study Team c/o Joanna Bradley, 1221 S. Second Ave., Mail Drop T100, Tucson, AZ 85713

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation and partner agencies are taking an essential step toward widening and other improvements along 23 miles of Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Casa Grande.

In collaboration with the Maricopa Association of Governments and the Gila River Indian Community, where this stretch is located, ADOT has issued a request for proposals for a design concept report and environmental study on adding a lane in each direction and improving existing interchanges.

The study, required for projects that receive federal funding, will have an accelerated timeline of 18 months when it launches later this year.

“Through this partnership advanced by the Maricopa Association of Governments in conjunction with the Gila River Indian Community, we are developing a vision and strategy to provide the capacity that I-10 needs today and tomorrow in this corridor,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “As ADOT has made significant investments to increase capacity between the state’s two largest metropolitan areas, we must respectfully work with all governments and citizens affected by plans for I-10.”

The Maricopa Association of Governments, the regional transportation-planning agency, has allocated about $65.5 million toward I-10 improvements in Maricopa County, $5.9 million of which is in ADOT’s current Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program for study, coordination and design of additional lanes. These funds are from the voter-approved Proposition 400 program, the dedicated transportation sales tax in Maricopa County.

In late 2019, after ADOT completes two widening projects underway between Earley Road and Interstate 8 in Casa Grande and between Eloy and Picacho, I-10 will be three lanes in each direction between State Route 387 near Casa Grande and Tucson. That will leave I-10 across the Gila River Indian Community, between Queen Creek Road and State Route 387, as the only remaining stretch with two lanes in each direction. That is the area this study will assess.

Widening I-10 across the Gila River Indian Community has been a longer-term ADOT priority requiring an agreement with tribal leaders and significant funding. While funding for initial improvements is tentatively planned for fiscal year 2023, the study will determine when construction would begin and establish the time frame for improvements.

ADOT is committed to identifying additional funding for I-10 improvements elsewhere in this Key Commerce Corridor.

PHOENIX – As the Arizona Department of Transportation advances projects that will add capacity to Interstate 17 north of the Phoenix area, drivers can help improve safety and reduce delays today by avoiding speeding, aggressive driving, distraction from things like cellphones and other behaviors that lead to crashes.

The longest backups stemming from crashes occur most often on weekends, when many drivers take I-17 to and from Arizona’s high country.

“New lanes will play a role in improved safety, but driver behavior remains the key,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “The reality is that a reduction in speeding, sudden lane changes and impaired driving would reduce crashes, closures and frustrating traffic backups along this corridor.”

ADOT is conducting an environmental and design concept study scheduled for completion by summer 2019. Initial construction of a third southbound I-17 lane between Black Canyon City and Anthem is planned in 2020.

The Maricopa Association of Governments, the Phoenix area’s metropolitan planning organization, has committed $50 million in its Regional Transportation plan in 2019 and 2020 for design work and the start of construction of the third I-17 lane extending south from Black Canyon City.

ADOT’s statewide construction program includes more than $100 million starting in 2021 to build I-17 “flex lanes” between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point. Construction is expected to take two years.

Flex lanes will operate as a separate two-lane system next to the existing I-17 southbound lanes between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point. Separated by barrier wall, the flex lanes will carry vehicles in one direction depending on traffic needs.

These new lanes will provide flexibility and additional traffic capacity at times when I-17 traffic is heaviest in one direction, including northbound on a Friday or southbound on a Sunday. The flex lanes, with gates or movable barriers at each end, also will help keep traffic moving if a crash or other incident has occurred on the steep, winding section of I-17 north of Black Canyon City.

Driver behavior is the leading factor in crashes along I-17 in the Black Canyon City region. An ADOT analysis conducted for a recent safety project showed that “speed too fast for conditions” was cited by Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers in more than 40 percent of I-17 crashes in that area.