PHOENIX – Buying a vehicle that needs a new license plate, or upgrading to a specialty or personalized plate? The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division is reminding motorists that you don’t need to return an old license plate to the MVD.

“We’re working very hard to get Arizonans out of line and safely on the road, and part of that is letting people know it’s okay to keep an old license plate instead of taking time out of a busy day to go to an MVD office,” said MVD Stakeholder Relations Manager Jennifer Bowser-Richards. “The only exception occurs if a plate is mutilated or illegible. In that case, the law requires a vehicle owner to get a new plate,” she noted.

She added, “Customers do have the option of transferring their current plate when they buy a different vehicle, but quite often if it involves merely a standard plate, people will just want to get rid of it. We want to make sure they know an office visit isn’t needed to do that. We also urge people who may not want to keep a plate to put it in their recycling bin as opposed to simply throwing it in the trash.”

For more information on plates and placards, visit azdot.gov/mvd

PHOENIX – It's scary. It can be diabolical and unnerving.

No, we’re not talking about that corn maze down Elm Street. It’s the rush to get home Halloween afternoon on Phoenix-area freeways.

When Halloween falls on a weekday, you can count on commuters, frightened of being late for the evening’s festivities, heading simultaneously toward freeways like a zombie tide. This creates a cauldron of eerily changing traffic that usually boils over into longer-than-usual delays. The situation is often described as grave.

The Arizona Department of Transylvania – we mean, Transportation – can only offer up these cryptic words of advice:

• If possible, be the ghoul or guy who leaves for home ahead of the setting sun. Being on the road by 3 o’clock may keep you ahead of the freeway phantom menace. Halloween-cursed traffic tends to build at a horrific pace from 4 o’clock on.
• Make sure you pack a trick-or-treat bag full of patience. Keep your head about you and avoid freakish behaviors like unsafe lane changes and not buckling up.
• Keep the little goblins in mind, especially when you’re almost to that haunted house you call home. There are dark tales of drivers trying to race the setting sun. Children and pets could be ahead of you. Slow down for safety!

We want you to get through what might be a chilling Halloween commute with an eerie smile on your face. And anywhere you go, listen to your mummy and beware the spirits. That’s our way of saying: Never drive while impaired. Doing the opposite is a ticket to jail, or worse, the Twilight Zone.

PHOENIX ‒ Replacing the Ajo Way bridge (State Route 86) over the Santa Cruz River as part of a project to improve Ajo Way west of Interstate 19 will mean closing the bicycle path under the bridge until the new bridge is in place.

The path will close on Tuesday evening, Oct. 30, and is expected to remain closed until December 2019.

Arizona Department of Transportation crews have been working since summer on utility improvements, including water and sewer lines, that are part of the second phase of the project. The second phase also includes widening Ajo Way between I-19 and Holiday Boulevard, replacing the pedestrian bridge at Michigan Street and building a braided ramp that connects Ajo Way with I-19 separately from I-19 traffic exiting at Irvington Road.

The $32 million project is scheduled for completion in January 2020. The Pima Association of Governments, the regional transportation-planning agency, is contributing about $6 million toward the cost.

Improvements during the $54 million first phase included a wider Ajo Way bridge over I-19, new ramps and new interchange design with a single set of signals controlling traffic flow. Other improvements included a wider Irvington Road exit lane, noise walls from Ajo Way south to Irvington Road, a wider Ajo Way east of I-19, a repaved Elizabeth Drive and a reconstructed Lamar Avenue.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation’s original plan for improving the Interstate 17 bridges at Willard Springs Road south of Flagstaff called for replacing the decks in both directions over two summers, ending well into 2019. The project that’s underway, however, is replacing the bridges in their entirety by the end of November – at no additional cost.

The difference is thanks to a process called value engineering.

Once a project has been awarded, ADOT and contractors can use value engineering to systematically analyze the plans and identify ways to deliver improvements safely, reliably and efficiently for the lowest overall cost possible, looking for ways to improve quality and value while reducing time needed to complete the work.  For ADOT to approve a contractor’s value engineering proposal, the change must either reduce cost or delivery time or both while adding value.

As an alternative to removing and replacing just the bridge decks at I-17 and Willard Springs Road, the contractor, Fisher Industries, proposed creating new bridge abutments as well by using giant steel plates attached to construction vehicles as molds around rebar cages. Once the concrete sets, the steel plates can be moved quickly, allowing crews to pour concrete for another part of the abutment.

Building abutments normally takes weeks. With this technique, being used for the first time on an ADOT project, it took only days for crews to create abutments for the I-17 bridges at Willard Springs Road.

“Once the abutments are built, the bridge work is the same that we’ve always done,” said Steve Monroe, senior resident engineer for ADOT’s North Central District. “It’s nice to have the contractor get in, get the job done in a much more efficient way and get out.”

The new bridges are expected to be ready prior to the long Thanksgiving weekend. For now, drivers are moving by the work zone along I-17 using two lanes. Willard Springs Road is closed under I-17 while work is occurring, but drivers who need to access Willard Springs can still do so use using the southbound lanes of I-17.

In addition to improving delivery time and value, having both bridges done in one season rather than two reduces the length of time drivers must deal with restrictions at Willard Springs Road.

The bridge improvements are part of a larger project to improve northbound I-17 from milepost 312 north to the Flagstaff area. Several miles of the interstate have been repaved along with new guardrail. Both the right and left lanes from milepost 312 to 315 have been completely rebuilt and are already being used by traffic.

In the final weeks before the weather turns too cold for paving, crews will focus on completing paving of both lanes between mileposts 312 and 316 and the right lane up to milepost 331 at Kelly Canyon Road. After a winter hiatus, crews will return when the weather warms to finish the project.

PHOENIX – An unemployed single mom of three, Iris Bost hoped to break into the male-dominated construction industry that would provide better pay than working retail.

Through a social media post, the 42-year-old Globe resident was excited to learn about an Arizona Department of Transportation-sponsored Construction Academy at Gila Community College. She signed up for the free apprenticeship program to learn carpentry and earned college credit too.

After finishing her training last year, Bost decided to start her own business teaching classes on job-related safety and health hazards as well as flagger/traffic control certification in partnership with ADOT and Gila Community College. The photo at right shows Bost (third from the left, back row) with her Construction Academy class.

“There should be more women in the construction field, and I want to do what I can to help them,” said Bost, who taught her first Occupational Safety and Health Administration class at Gila Community College in August. “I want to teach both women and men about what they can and cannot do on the job so that they will work safely.”

To help remove barriers to careers in transportation construction, Construction Academy programs that ADOT offers with employers, community colleges, Native American tribes and others provide free training and other support – including safety gear and help with transportation and child care – for members of economically disadvantaged groups. While the list of qualifying individuals also includes minorities, veterans and those who are unemployed, among others, one benefit of this program has been helping more women enter the construction trades.

Of the more than 600 people who have graduated from Construction Academy pre-apprentice training programs since they began in 2014, about 35 percent are women. Three-quarters of participants have gone on to work in the construction field as flaggers, commercial truck drivers, heavy equipment operators, highway surveyors, electricians, carpenters, painters, pipe fitters, concrete finishers and block masons. Depending on the position, they start out earning $14 to $24 an hour, and sometimes more.

“ADOT is investing in attracting and training skilled construction workers. Our Construction Academy not only benefits individuals but helps the construction industry in Arizona as a whole while connecting women and others with construction job opportunities,’’ said Dr. Vivien Lattibeaudiere, ADOT’s employee and business development administrator. “We help place Construction Academy graduates into apprenticeships and trainee positions with contractors that build roads in Arizona. This helps advance Arizona’s transportation system and the state’s economy.’’

Women comprise about 9 percent of construction workers nationally, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Offered through ADOT’s On-The-Job-Training Supportive Services Program, part of the agency’s Business Engagement and Compliance Office, the Construction Academy combines hands-on activities and classwork that includes computer technology, construction math, commercial driving and job-related safety and health hazards. Training is offered in the evenings and some weekends to make it more accessible.

Along with safety gear such as hard hats, protective eyewear and boots, Construction Academy participants receive job-readiness training and continued mentoring to help them achieve journeyman status.

As an added bonus, Construction Academy participants like Bost perfect their construction skills by giving back to their communities. Bost and her classmates built a shed for the Globe Miami Piranha swim team and rehabilitated an elderly man’s home. She’s also found the skills helpful in her personal life.

“The ADOT Construction Academy is a great opportunity not only to prepare you for a job in the construction field, but you also learn what to do if you want to make repairs in your own home,’’ Bost said.

Patricia McKinley, another Construction Academy participant, said she wanted to do more than office work at the small trucking company that she and her husband started in Phoenix. She wanted to drive a large truck for construction jobs but couldn’t afford the training to get a Class A commercial driver license.

Thanks to ADOT’s Construction Academy, McKinley was able to obtain her commercial driver license at no cost. While working full-time, she participated in a six-week program offered four nights a week at Southwest Truck Driving School in Phoenix. She also earned her traffic control flagger certification.

Today, the 39-year-old mother of two operates an 18-wheeler to transport dirt excavated for highway projects. She and her husband, Jonvai, own KHAVL Transport LLC, an ADOT-certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise.

“I was the only woman out of six students in the commercial driver license class, and I was intimidated at first. But my husband encouraged me to keep going,’’ McKinley said. “This is a great opportunity for anyone looking to grow. ADOT’s program provided me with free gear and taught me what I needed to go to work.”

For more information or to apply for a Construction Academy, please visit azdot.gov/BECO, call 602.712.7761 or pick up materials at the ADOT Business Engagement and Compliance Office, 1801 W. Jefferson St., Suite 101, in Phoenix.

PHOENIX – Motorists in the Laveen area should plan ahead with Dobbins Road closing Monday, Oct. 29, from west of 59th Avenue to 75th Avenue for construction of a Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway interchange.

Traffic can detour on Baseline and Elliot roads.

The closure, which runs through April 2019, will allow crews to accelerate construction of one of 13 interchanges planned for the South Mountain Freeway.

Similar extended closures have enabled crews to expedite interchange work at Elliot Road and Estrella Drive along the 22-mile freeway corridor. Elliot Road reopened in April. Construction of the Estrella Drive interchange, which has required a closure west of 51st Avenue since mid-May, is nearly complete and the closure will be lifted soon.

In order to build the Dobbins Road traffic interchange, construction crews will complete the following work during the closure:

• Build a two-span, 215-foot-long freeway bridge over Dobbins Road
• Construct retaining walls, underground utilities and drainage structures
• Build and pave connecting on- and-off ramps
• Repave Dobbins Road through the construction zone

Crews already have relocated utilities and drilled shafts for bridge supports.

The South Mountain Freeway, which is slated to open as early as 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.

A major step forward this weekend for construction of a Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway interchange in the West Valley will require a westbound closure of Interstate 10 followed by an eastbound closure, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Crews with Connect 202 Partners, the developer of the South Mountain Freeway, will be pouring concrete above I-10 travel lanes to create the deck of a 1,565-foot flyover ramp that will eventually connect to I-10.

Westbound I-10 will be closed between 51st and 67th avenues from 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, to 4 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 27. Eastbound I-10 will then close between 67th and 51st avenues from 4 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, to 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28, well before the end of the Arizona Cardinals’ game against the San Francisco 49ers (1:25 p.m. kickoff).

During the westbound closure, traffic exiting at 51st Avenue can detour to the westbound I-10 access road, as well as Van Buren Street or McDowell Road, before re-entering I-10 at 67th Avenue. In addition, the westbound I-10 on-ramps at 27th, 35th and 43rd avenues will be closed to help reduce traffic backups.

During the eastbound closure, traffic exiting at 67th Avenue can detour to Van Buren Street or McDowell Road, before re-entering I-10 at 51st Avenue (the eastbound I-10 access road from 67th and 51st avenues is closed during this work). In addition, the eastbound I-10 on-ramps at 91st, 83rd and 75th avenues will be closed to help reduce traffic backups.

To avoid delays on I-10, motorists should consider alternate routes, including the Loop 101 (Agua Fria Freeway) west of Interstate 17, or exiting I-10 sooner and taking local streets to re-enter past the closure point.

Motorists should also be aware that 59th Avenue will also be closed in both directions between I-10 and Roosevelt Street from 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, to 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28.

During the closures, crews will pump approximately 730 cubic yards of concrete, enough to fill more than 60 dump trucks, into the steel-reinforced deck on the flyover ramp, the longest of five ramps that will be part of the interchange.

Once the concrete is poured, a self-propelled concrete leveling machine called a bidwell will spread the concrete to ensure a flat surface throughout. After the concrete has had an opportunity to cure and reach maximum strength, construction vehicles can travel on the ramp.

The 22-mile South Mountain Freeway, expected to open as early as 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.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule. To stay up to date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov or call 511.

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.

PHOENIX – One of Yuma County’s largest recent freeway improvement projects is about to be completed, paving the way for smoother and safer travel through one of the region’s busiest intersections.

The new Araby Road traffic interchange at Interstate 8 includes two modern roundabouts that will reduce delays for drivers entering and exiting I-8. The roundabout on the south side of I-8 also connects with Gila Ridge Road.

The $8 million project was completed in two phases, with the roundabout on the north side of I-8 finished in 2017 and the south side roundabout expected to be complete by Nov. 1.

The work stopped from November 2017 to May 2018 to allow easier freeway access for seasonal visitors and winter produce headed toward markets across the country.

Araby Road, also known as State Route 195, connects I-8 with the San Luis Port of Entry and is a vital corridor for international commerce. The roundabouts are designed to accommodate large commercial trucks as well as agricultural equipment and recreational vehicles.

The interchange is one of the busiest along I-8 in Yuma, used by about 22,000 vehicles per day. The new design is expected to accommodate increasing traffic in the area through at least 2035.

A comprehensive study determined that modern roundabouts are the best choice to meet traffic demands at the interchange. Modern roundabouts have been shown to be safer and more efficient than traditional signalized intersections.

Overnight closures of Araby Road at I-8 are planned for Monday through Thursday nights, Oct. 22-25. The southbound lane will close at 10 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 22, and Tuesday Oct. 23, with the northbound lane closing Wednesday, Oct. 24 and Thursday, Oct. 25. The road will reopen at 5 a.m. on the following mornings.

In addition, the I-8 eastbound on- and off ramps at Araby will be closed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26, and Saturday, Oct. 27. 

PHOENIX ‒ A six-month project to replace the deck of the bridge over Interstate 10 at Pinal Air Park Road will begin in early November.

Preliminary work on the $1.85 million project will begin Wednesday, Oct. 24. The bridge will close in early November and remain closed for about four months, temporarily shutting down direct access to and from westbound I-10.

In addition to replacing the deck on the bridge, which was built in 1963, Arizona Department of Transportation crews will repair girders under the bridge.

Drivers on westbound I-10 who want to exit at Pinal Air Park Road (exit 232) should continue north to the Red Rock exit (exit 226), then take eastbound I-10 to Pinal Air Park Road. There will be no restrictions on ramps to and from eastbound I-10.

Drivers on Pinal Air Park Road who want to use westbound I-10 will need to take eastbound I-10 to Marana Road (exit 236).

I-10 will be reduced to two lanes in each direction under the bridge during much of the work.