News

PHOENIX – Because of the incoming winter storm, the Arizona Department of Transportation is closing State Route 67 to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park on Tuesday, Nov. 26.

During the winter, ADOT closes and doesn’t clear snow from SR 67, a 43-mile highway between US 89A at Jacob Lake and the park, since North Rim visitor accommodations are shut down. After closing on Dec. 1 – or earlier when weather warrants, as in this case – SR 67 reopens each spring, usually around mid-May.

PHOENIX – If you see Arizona Department of Transportation employees at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix beginning this holiday travel season, don’t be surprised. They’re raising awareness about the AZ Travel ID.

The AZ Travel ID is the driver license or ID card that meets the new federal ID requirements that the U.S. Transportation and Security Administration will impose at all airport security checkpoints beginning October 1, 2020.

PHOENIX – Arizona Department of Transportation snowplows will operate around the clock when winter storms hamper travel on state highways. For Interstate 40 between Flagstaff and Williams, the highest freeway stretch in Arizona, an innovation known as the TowPlow helps give ADOT an edge by allowing just one driver to clear snow and ice from two lanes.

The TowPlow is a steerable trailer with a 26-foot blade that attaches to the back of a snowplow. Two TowPlows are assigned to I-40 west of Flagstaff, an area that often sees intense snowfall.

PHOENIX – The deadline is approaching for public comment on a Draft Environmental Assessment on improvements proposed for 11 miles of Interstate 10 between the Interstate 17 “Split” interchange and the Loop 202 Santan Freeway.

The Draft Environmental Assessment, which was published on Oct. 4, is available for review at i10broadwaycurve.com. The deadline for comments to be included in the Final Environmental Assessment is Monday, Nov. 18.

PHOENIX – For those building the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, it’s obvious which vehicles belong in the 22-mile work zone. Many are very large. Smaller vehicles have flashing lights, and some have brightly colored flags waving high in the air to let others know they are in the area.

PHOENIX – The term “Traffic Incident Management” might sound technical. Maybe even a bit boring. And, in practice, TIM is both of those things, which is great for motorists.

TIM is a planned and coordinated process to detect, respond to and remove traffic incidents, like crashes, and restore traffic capacity as safely and quickly as possible. That means TIM techniques and strategies will keep you safer if you’re involved in a crash; protect the professionals responding to crashes; and reduce congestion near incidents that can lead to secondary collisions.

PHOENIX – When blowing dust reduces visibility along 10 miles of Interstate 10 between Eloy and Picacho Peak, a detection and warning system developed by the Arizona Department of Transportation will quickly tell drivers to reduce speed for safety.

PHOENIX – More Arizonans are getting the AZ Travel ID than ever before.

Data released by the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division show that the number of the federally-compliant AZ Travel IDs issued at MVD and Authorized Third Party offices has jumped considerably, from less than 20 percent in January to 65 percent now.

“An increase of 45 percent in less than a year is a testament to customer service professionals doing an excellent job,” said MVD Director Eric Jorgensen. “But our message is still, ‘Will your license fly?’”

PHOENIX – A study to improve Interstate 10 and State Route 210 – and to connect the two important highways for enhanced access to downtown Tucson – is now available for public review and comment.

PHOENIX – Motorists who travel on US 60 between Miami and Superior should plan ahead for about six weeks of twice-a-week daytime closures starting Thursday, Nov. 7, as rock blasting begins for the Pinto Creek Bridge replacement project.

PHOENIX – In addition to widening 4 miles of Interstate 10 and adding a first-of-its-kind dust detection and warning system, an Arizona Department of Transportation project nearing completion at Eloy has created a modern State Route 87 interchange able to handle traffic demands for decades to come.

Along with a new SR 87 bridge spanning the Union Pacific Railroad tracks just to the north, a bridge over I-10 features two lanes in each direction plus turn lanes and traffic signals, a step up from one lane in each direction offered by the former interchange.

PHOENIX – Arizona consumers should be on the alert for a phony email scam that has been spotted in the Yuma region.

Yuma-area media have reported that some area residents have received an email purportedly from the “Department of Motor Vehicles” demanding that the recipient pay for a civil traffic violation within 48 hours or face arrest.

PHOENIX – A new full-time format for the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Construction Academy pre-apprenticeship training program readies participants for highway construction jobs in just two weeks.

The first cohort in the Highway Construction-Jump Start program graduated in October after hands-on instruction in Camp Verde. At no cost to them, seven participants received training and certifications needed to compete for entry-level jobs on construction projects.

PHOENIX – Arizona Highways magazine, published by the Arizona Department of Transportation, won 17 awards at the International Regional Magazine Association’s recent annual conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.

PHOENIX – A new technique that basically slides precast bridges into place has greatly reduced delays for the Bellemont community with an Arizona Department of Transportation project replacing spans over Interstate 40 at Transwestern Road west of Flagstaff.

Using this technique, which the contractor proposed, allowed crews to replace the bridges during a nine-day closure of Transwestern Road over I-40 rather than having the six to eight months of restrictions required for a traditional bridge replacement project.

The Arizona Department of Transportation is completing a project to install hundreds of new, more visible wrong way signs along Phoenix-area freeways as part of ongoing efforts to get the attention of often-impaired drivers who go the wrong direction on off-ramps or in travel lanes.

The Arizona Department of Transportation has received a 2019 National Roadway Safety Award for the wrong-way vehicle alert system being tested on Interstate 17 in Phoenix.

PHOENIX – Two sections of 59th Avenue along the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway will soon become one-way streets as new frontage roads open.

Beginning Saturday, Oct. 19, 59th Avenue will carry only northbound traffic between Lower Buckeye and Buckeye roads. A new frontage road on the west side of the future freeway will carry southbound traffic.

PHOENIX – Connect 202 Partners, the developer building the 22-mile Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, and 10 subcontractors on the project have combined to achieve three on-the-job training goals.

Participants in the training, which is required for Arizona Department of Transportation projects that receive federal funding, are members of minority groups, women and economically disadvantaged individuals.

PHOENIX – To enhance safety and minimize disruption of traffic after crashes on Valley freeways, the Arizona Department of Transportation has established an Incident Response Unit to work alongside state troopers and other first responders.

Fourteen units, which are part of ADOT’s Traffic Systems Management and Operations Division (TSMO), patrol freeways to be ready to respond quickly to incidents. Drivers can expect to see them helping with traffic control after crashes, removing debris from freeways and doing minor maintenance.