News

The Arizona Department of Transportation will hold an additional public hearing for the revised 2021-2025 Tentative Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program on Friday, Oct. 16 during the monthly State Transportation Board meeting.

The hearing is open to anyone who wishes to address the board with his or her comments about what should be included in the 2021-2025 Five-Year Program. The public hearing and board meeting will be held online. Meeting details can be found at aztransportationboard.gov. 

PHOENIX – The new Fourth Street bridge passing over Interstate 40 in Flagstaff is now complete, providing improved safety and traffic flow in the area.

PHOENIX – There are still opportunities for you to cast daily votes in a national contest to recognize one of Arizona's new freeways and fund student scholarships.

The Arizona Department of Transportation is one of 12 finalists for an award that would celebrate ADOT’s innovations on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway that saved three years of construction time and $100 million in construction costs. If the freeway wins, ADOT will win a $10,000 prize that will be used to fund scholarships for 10 members of the Gila River Indian Community.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has completed the replacement of guardrail along more than 11 miles of SR 87 northbound after it was damaged in the Bush Fire this summer.

With the new guardrail in place, lane restrictions along northbound SR 87 toward Payson have been removed. Crews had been gradually reducing the lane restriction as sections of guardrail were replaced.

ADOT secured federal emergency relief funds to cover the $2 million cost of repaired guardrail and the right-of-way fence.

PHOENIX – According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are an average of 35,000 to 40,000 traffic fatalities in the United States every year. In Arizona, there have been 725 traffic fatalities this year through the end of September.

PHOENIX – Northbound Interstate 15 will be narrowed to one lane over Bridge No. 7 in the Virgin River Gorge for the next several weeks so the Arizona Department of Transportation can repair damage from an August crash involving a semi-truck.

Beginning at 6 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, northbound I-15 will be narrowed to one lane at milepost 22. Drivers traveling between Mesquite, Nevada and St. George, Utah should expect delays and allow extra travel time. Southbound I-15 traffic will not be affected by the work.

PHOENIX – It’s only been a year since its inception, but ADOT’s Incident Response Unit sponsored by State Farm has proved its worth in helping decrease crashes, aid drivers and improve traffic flow on Valley freeways.

Since hitting the road in October 2019, the 14-member unit, part of ADOT’s Traffic Systems Management and Operations Division, has responded to more than 10,400 crashes, disabled vehicles, debris or other incidents in the Phoenix metro area.

PHOENIX – Fearless people are all around us. Handlers of venomous snakes. Rodeo bullfighters. Electrical workers who do repairs from the sky. But there’s one thing that terrifies these brave souls: distracted drivers.

“Distracted driving is terrifying,” Arizona Department of Transportation Director John Halikowski said. “Seeing a driver in the car next to you, looking down at their phone while driving and behaving like a drunk driver – swerving and driving too slow or too fast – no one wants to encounter that driver and it has to stop.”

PHOENIX – Drivers on US 70 west of Safford should expect delays and alternating lane closures starting Monday, Oct. 5, for a pavement preservation project between the communities of Pima and Bylas, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The project includes a chip seal and rumble strips along the center of the roadway and the shoulders.

Work is scheduled between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays and is expected for about two months. Motorists should expect delays of 15 minutes, with longer delays possible during peak traffic hours.

PHOENIX – If the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway wins a national transportation award, the $10,000 prize will be used to fund scholarships for 10 members of the Gila River Indian Community.

And Arizona residents can have a hand in making that happen.

PHOENIX - More than $23 million in emergency federal aid is on its way to Arizona to reimburse the Arizona Department of Transportation for costs to repair damage to roads and bridges during recent fires and floods. 

The funds reimburse the state for dollars used for repair work that has already been completed except in the case of this summer’s Bush Fire where work is still continuing on damage to a portion of State Route 87 north of Fountain Hills and parts of SR 188.

PHOENIX -- A survey of commercial vehicle drivers and dispatchers who travel Interstate 10 is underway to better understand the challenges and issues commercial drivers face when seeking parking at locations along the I-10 corridor. 

The I-10 Corridor Coalition, composed of the departments of transportation in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, is conducting a survey through Oct. 30.

PHOENIX – So, you’ve purchased a vehicle, completed the registration and title information, and received your tabs in the mail. But when will the title arrive?

Actually, there’s no reason to worry because your vehicle’s title information has been there all along – safely in electronic form and accessible in your free AZ MVD Now account, which all current Arizona MVD customers have.

Arizona has a lot of unique features – like having a Motor Vehicle Division instead of a Department of Motor Vehicles.

But what might seem like a simple name difference can lead unsuspecting customers to unauthorized websites and scams when they’re simply searching for ways to do business online with the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division.

PHOENIX – Detectives with the Arizona Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General have arrested a used car dealer after he allegedly cheated customers and lenders out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through fraudulent schemes and practices.

PHOENIX -  Arizona Department of Transportation innovations designed to improve driver safety and awareness during bad weather conditions have earned recognition from the National Weather Service, which has cited ADOT as a “Weather Ready Nation Ambassador of Excellence.”

PHOENIX – With the completion of new lanes for the US 93 widening project north of Wikieup, the Arizona Department of Transportation will conduct a traffic switch Monday, Sept. 21 so crews can work on rebuilding the existing southbound lanes.

The traffic switch will occur at 8 a.m. Monday, Sept. 21, between mileposts 116 and 119. Drivers in the area should expect a brief delay while crews switch all traffic to the new northbound lanes.

PHOENIX – Adopt-a-Highway volunteers will be joining participants across the country for National CleanUp Day on Sept. 19 with local volunteers serving in 13 of Arizona’s counties. Volunteers from all 50 states will focus on cleaning green spaces, urban landscapes and waterways. 

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation will open an additional comment period for the revised 2021-2025 Tentative Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program on Friday, Sept. 18. The additional comment period will extend through Tuesday, Oct. 27.

The State Transportation Board will receive the newly revised Tentative Program during its monthly meeting on Sept. 18. Earlier this year, ADOT conducted its traditional process for the annual update to the Five-Year Program and held a public comment period and two public hearings. 

PHOENIX – Drivers heading north to Payson, the Mogollon Rim and the White Mountains for the Labor Day holiday weekend should budget extra time and consider alternate routes with 7 miles of State Route 87 still limited to one lane while crews repair guardrail and fencing damaged by the Bush Fire.