PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Transportation will be installing Dynamic Message Signs around the state over the next few weeks. Drivers should be aware the sign installation projects will cause temporary traffic restrictions.

The following restrictions will take place next week for the installation of message signs in northern Arizona:

• Tuesday, Aug. 13 on I-17 northbound at milepost 334.7 just south of Flagstaff Right lane closure from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. with rolling closures throughout the day

• Wednesday, Aug. 14 on I-40 westbound at milepost 250.7 in Winslow Right lane closure from 6 a.m. – 2 p.m. with rolling closures throughout the day

• Thursday, Aug. 15 on I-40 eastbound at milepost 42.2 just west of Kingman Right lane closure from 6 a.m. – 2 p.m. with rolling closures throughout the day

A new message sign will also be installed the following week on Aug. 20 just east of Willcox. The work will require a right lane closure eastbound on I-10 at milepost 347.9 from 6 a.m. – 2 p.m.

These new electronic signs will bring the total number of DMS boards around state to 182.  Overhead signs help keep drivers informed about traffic conditions, alternate routes, special events, weather conditions, and fire, flood and dust storm dangers. The signs help drivers make informed decisions about their travel routes.

In addition to the installation of signs in new locations, an existing older DMS board along State Route 260 at milepost 302.4 near Heber will be replaced with a new sign during the week of Aug. 26.  Crews will work in the westbound direction Monday through Wednesday and in the eastbound direction Thursday and Friday. Flaggers will be on site to direct traffic through the work zone.

ADOT asks motorists traveling in the sign installation areas to plan extra travel time and be prepared to stop or slow down in the work zones.

PHOENIX – America's Transportation Awards presented a Best Use of Innovation award to the Arizona Department of Transportation for the Nogales Mariposa Port of Entry project completed in summer 2012. ADOT received the award during a presentation at the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials annual meeting on Aug. 5 in San Francisco.

The Best Use of Innovation award recognizes innovative management techniques and use of technology.

The Nogales Mariposa Port of Entry received new technology to allow faster processing of trucks crossing the border, thereby improving overall traffic flow and processing capability at one of the busiest ports of entry in the United States. The project involved collaboration between ADOT, the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the U.S. General Services Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Arizona-Mexico Commission.

Upgrades included seven Slow Speed Weigh in Motion (SSWIM) scales, seven credential processing booths, and a larger building to accommodate more staff to process commercial truck permitting and issuance of citations.

The project cost $8.5 million and took a little more than six months to complete.

In addition to improvements at the port of entry, ADOT realigned and widened a portion of State Route 189 that runs adjacent to the port, further improving traffic flow in the area.

The America's Transportation Awards competition, co-sponsored by AAA, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), was launched in 2008 to recognize projects accomplished each year by state departments of transportation. The awards highlight the value that departments of transportation add to their communities.

PHOENIX —The latest upgrade to the Arizona 511 system has gone live, providing a more real-time view of traffic conditions with 10-second updates to camera images online. Through www.az511.gov, drivers can see traffic from 180 cameras throughout the Valley.

The new digital system completes the final phase of a $2.1 million federally funded project that also included an overhaul of the Arizona Department of Transportation Traffic Operations Center. The Traffic Operations Center is the high-tech communication center that dispatches ADOT crews to highway incidents, coordinates with other first responders, and helps safely move motorists around the state and avoid congestion.

Previously, the cameras refreshed online only once every five minutes.

Traffic cameras are used to quickly identify incidents so traffic can be redirected, provide first responders with fast, accurate information, and allow commuters to make more informed decisions on their routes. The cameras are not used for enforcement of traffic laws, and the images are not recorded by ADOT.

ADOT’s first traffic cameras went up along Interstate 10 in 1990. Today, there are more than 200 cameras monitoring the freeways in Phoenix and Tucson. New cameras are continually added. The next cameras to go online will be on the Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway), east of Loop 101.

Road Weather Information System cameras help monitor road and weather conditions in rural Arizona. Limited technology in these remote areas prevents these cameras from being part of the latest digital update, but new cameras have been added to this system to provide drivers with a statewide view of roadway conditions in key locations like Flagstaff and north of Payson.

“Now, the system will help give users a much better, accurate story,” said Darrell Bingham, an information technology manager who led the project. “The benefit to drivers will be more information when they need it the most to avoid congestion and make informed decisions during their commute.”

The www.az511.gov website is Arizona’s portion of the national 511 Travel Information Alert System. Traffic updates are available at www.az511.gov or by dialing 5-1-1 from any phone in Arizona.