News

PHOENIX – As progress continues on the Bellemont traffic interchange along Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff, the Arizona Department of Transportation will close the highway under the bridge overnight on Monday, Sept. 16, and Thursday, Sept. 19.

Eastbound I-40 will close under the overpass for the Bellemont/Transwestern Road interchange from 7 p.m. to midnight on Sept. 16, and the westbound direction will close from 7 p.m. to midnight on Sept. 19.

PHOENIX – Winning a $10.4 million Federal Highway Administration grant will allow the Arizona Department of Transportation to advance improvements to four US 191 bridges in a corridor important to residents of the Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona.

The bridges cross major drainages on the Navajo Nation between Chinle Wash at milepost 470 north of Many Farms and Lukachukai Creek at milepost 488.

PHOENIX – Recent improvements to the Arizona Department of Transportation website mean Motor Vehicle Division customers now have more information about wait times, office operating hours, service changes and other important items available to them online.

Technological advances introduced earlier this month at azdot.gov include changes to the Motor Vehicle Division Hours and Locations page.

PHOENIX – The Draft Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement for the 55-mile North-South Corridor, stretching from US 60 in Apache Junction to Interstate 10 in Eloy in Pinal County, is now available for review and comment.

Following several years of study, technical analysis and input from communities and stakeholders, moving to this phase is a milestone for the proposed corridor.

The South Mountain Freeway’s first new interchange at 40th Street has opened on schedule, an important step forward for the state’s largest-ever freeway construction project.

PHOENIX – To enhance safety and manage traffic through the bridge improvement project along Interstate 15 in the Virgin River Gorge, the Arizona Department of Transportation is using a first-of-its-kind alert system to help reduce emergency braking and collisions.

With I-15 reduced to one lane in each direction during construction, traffic begins to queue during peak travel times and holidays. A queue warning system that includes portable message boards informs drivers of stop-and-go traffic ahead using equipment that detects traffic in real-time. 

PHOENIX – Governor Doug Ducey has honored Arizona Highways and Arizona State Parks and Trails with his Good Government Award for a collaboration that includes a one-year subscription to the magazine when someone purchases an annual parks pass.

The award celebrates innovations stemming from the Arizona Management System, which empowers all state employees to continually improve processes and value to customers.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has reopened the last stretch of State Route 88 (Apache Trail) that had been closed since the Woodbury Fire burned more than 100,000 acres immediately east of the roadway. This unpaved section lies between milepost 220 east of Tortilla Flat and milepost 229 just west of the turnoff to the Apache Lake marina.

Motorists using SR 88 should be aware of the possibility of severe flooding and debris flows from areas burned in the Woodbury Fire. Daylight travel is recommended.

PHOENIX – To enhance safety on state highways, the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Enforcement and Compliance Division partnered with the Hopi Tribe to set up a mobile commercial vehicle inspection site on the reservation.

PHOENIX – With the federally-imposed deadline of October 1, 2020 drawing closer, as of this Friday the Transportation Security Administration will advise passengers passing through airport security checkpoints that it’s important to consider getting a Travel ID in order to meet upcoming new federal identification requirements.

The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division offers the federally-compliant Travel ID at all MVD locations statewide. It’s also available at those Authorized Third Party providers that offer license and ID services.

PHOENIX – Drivers who use Interstate 10 in the Vail area during nighttime and early morning hours should budget extra travel time for approximately two weeks starting Wednesday, Aug. 21. Lane restrictions are needed for an Arizona Department of Transportation project to replace two bridge decks spanning the freeway southeast of Tucson.

Bridges at the State Route 83 and Colossal Cave/Wentworth Road interchanges will be upgraded during this project, which is scheduled for completion in fall 2020. Crews will begin with the SR 83 bridge and then move to Colossal Cave/Wentworth Road.

PHOENIX – Drivers on westbound Loop 101 in north Scottsdale are using temporary lanes between Hayden and Scottsdale roads to allow new bridge construction along that stretch of the Pima Freeway.

As part of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s ongoing widening project in the north Valley, crews over the weekend switched westbound Loop 101 traffic to the construction bypass lanes next to the freeway bridge work zone.

PHOENIX – A 4-mile stretch of Interstate 10 in Casa Grande now offers three lanes in each direction, moving the Arizona Department of Transportation ever closer to its goal of expanding to six-lane freeway all the way between Tucson and Phoenix.

The $43 million widening project nearing completion between Earley Road and Interstate 8 in Casa Grande also replaced the I-10 bridges over Jimmie Kerr Boulevard to accommodate three lanes in each direction.

PHOENIX – A group dedicated to law enforcement coordination between Arizona and Sonora has honored the director of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Enforcement and Compliance Division for promoting international partnership and trade through initiatives such as first-of-its-kind safety training offered to truckers and companies in Mexico.

Policia Internacional Sonora-Arizona recently presented its Luis Noriega Award to ADOT’s Tim Lane. The award, the group’s highest honor, is named for a longtime board member and deputy U.S. marshal.

PHOENIX – A man who allegedly used a stolen identity to purchase a sports car and stick the victim with the bill was arrested on a felony warrant after detectives with the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General brought the case before a grand jury.

In March of last year, Randall Cepi, 31, concocted a scheme to use the personal information of a customer at the dealership where he was employed in Winslow to purchase a 2007 Chevrolet Corvette from a dealership in Flagstaff.

PHOENIX – An Arizona Department of Transportation project replacing the Interstate 40 bridge at Meteor City Road is using innovative techniques that get the work done faster, limit inconvenience for motorists and reduce long-term maintenance costs.

PHOENIX – With approximately 300 business days left until Oct. 1, 2020, the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division is urging customers not to delay getting the Travel ID to ensure they have an ID valid at TSA airport checkpoints and federal buildings.

PHOENIX – Because of the potential for severe flooding from areas burned in the Woodbury Fire, a 7-mile, unpaved section of State Route 88 (Apache Trail) will remain closed from an area several miles east of Tortilla Flat to just west of the Apache Lake marina turnoff while the Arizona Department of Transportation continues assessing conditions.

PHOENIX – Two years after launching a first-of-its-kind truck safety training program for drivers and companies in Mexico, the Arizona Department of Transportation has added refresher instruction for those who have been through the program.

PHOENIX – Drivers heading along I-40 between Flagstaff and Winslow should slow down and expect delays while work is taking place. The ramp detour will remain in place 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The speed limit is reduced to 45 mph.

In addition to replacing the bridges, crews will also reconstruct the roadway approach to the bridges.

The current detour will last through mid-August while the project is anticipated to wrap up sometime in the fall.