News

Long-term options for US 191

Because of the rapidly changing nature of winter storms, the Interstate 40 grade west of Williams got so much snow in brief period overnight Tuesday that the freeway temporarily closed.

The amount of time it takes for customers to do business at Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division offices continues to go down and has reached historic levels of improvement.

Members of the public are welcome to provide input on an update to the Arizona Department of Transportation’s State Aviation System Plan.

Recognizing that states can comply with federal environmental requirements on their own while streamlining processes, a new agreement assigns ADOT environmental review authority and responsibility for many projects found to not have significant environmental impacts.

Closure to begin Jan. 8, continue until July

The first interchange under construction in Laveen for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway is taking shape.

PHOENIX – State routes 261 and 273 in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona will close for the winter on Tuesday, Jan. 2, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. They are among a handful of routes across the state that close for the winter and reopen in the spring.

PHOENIX – As drivers take to Arizona’s highways over the holidays, Arizona Department of Transportation rest area Safe Phone Zones sponsored by GEICO encourage motorists to pull off the road before using smartphones for talking, texting and more.

“Even a moment’s distraction can be deadly,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “We are at our best as drivers when we are focused on the road, rested and sober. Using Safe Phone Zones at rest areas allows drivers to stay connected in a safe way.”

PHOENIX – Drivers heading to Southern California through Yuma should plan for delays on Interstate 8 with California Department of Transportation repairs closing one of two westbound lanes over the Colorado River.

PHOENIX – An Arizona Department of Transportation project improving 9 miles of State Route 260 between Interstate 17 and Thousand Trails Road in the Verde Valley is on schedule and 40 percent complete.

Come fall 2018, this stretch of SR 260 will be a divided four-lane highway with seven roundabouts at major intersections, improving traffic flow while increasing capacity and safety.

PHOENIX – After asphalt lanes get a rejuvenating seal designed to reduce cracking and extend the life of pavement, an innovation by Arizona Department of Transportation employees allows crews to reopen freeways faster.

Using scrap metal, ADOT maintenance workers fashioned what’s essentially a reverse stencil – a diamond-shaped template that keeps the oil-based seal off of white HOV markings within lanes. They also designed a metal arm to lift and transport the template from one HOV diamond to the next.

PHOENIX – After months of technical analysis that includes the results of public, agency and tribal input gathered earlier this year, the Arizona Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, has published two key documents as part of the environmental study for Interstate 11 from Nogales to Wickenburg.

Allows trucks to keep moving while weight, credentials checked

YUMA – Weigh-in-motion technology that allows the Arizona Department of Transportation to check commercial trucks for their weight, permit and registration compliance while the trucks continue moving will be expanded to areas near Yuma and Gila Bend.

Next week ADOT crews will continue installing sensors in the roadway at three locations. Drivers in both directions should expect right lane restrictions and minor delays during the work:

PHOENIX – As the widening project along US 60 between State Route 77 and 40th Street in Show Low wraps up for the winter, drivers should budget extra time early next week as crews stripe the road and put the traffic signal at US 60 and SR 77 in its final configuration.

Beginning Monday, Dec. 18, crews will put down final striping along US 60 in the project area. This must be done during the day, as overnight temperatures are too cold to apply the striping material. Striping work is expected to last a few days.

YUMA – Drivers on Araby Road south of Interstate 8 will see occasional delays next week as Arizona Department of Transportation crews install a new radar detection system to regulate the traffic signals at Araby and 32nd Street.

The radar detection system will replace an aging loop detection system in the pavement at the intersection.

PHOENIX – It happens in an instant. An overhead message board flashes, “ALERT, WRONG-WAY DRIVER AHEAD.” Or headlights suddenly appear on your side of a divided roadway.

What you do before and during these and other situations involving wrong-way drivers, most of whom are impaired, can increase the chances of avoiding a potentially fatal collision.

MARANA – Drivers heading from northwest Pima County toward downtown Tucson will start using new eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 at Ina Road this weekend.

Beginning Saturday night, Dec. 16, Arizona Department of Transportation crews will begin moving eastbound traffic to the new lanes of I-10 as part of a two-year project to improve both I-10 and Ina Road. The work is expected to be complete the morning of Sunday, Dec. 17.

PHOENIX – The Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway remains on track to open by late 2019 with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco affirming a U.S. District Court ruling that allowed the Arizona Department of Transportation to move forward with construction.