News

PHOENIX ‒ As far as the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division is aware, Santa’s sleigh doesn’t need a license plate. But Saint Nick could put one in your stocking this year because specialty plates make terrific gifts.

“Every day is like Cyber Monday at the MVD because specialty plates are always a great deal and can easily be purchased online, even as a gift,” said MVD Stakeholder Relations Manager Jennifer Bowser-Richards. “Not only that, but the sales raise millions of dollars for worthy causes every year.”

PHOENIX – Construction equipment is now able to travel over 40th Street using new concrete bridge decks that eventually will carry traffic on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

Another sign of progress on a 22-mile freeway that’s scheduled to open by late 2019, deck construction is one of the final steps in building a bridge. At 40th Street in Ahwatukee, the work followed several months of fabricating and installing piers, abutments and girders.

PHOENIX – The public and agencies across the state have until Dec. 21 to comment on the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Tentative Long-Range Transportation Plan.

The plan, which is updated every five years, outlines strategies for meeting the state’s highway and bridge needs over the next 25 years. The CiviComment online tool, which is also available on the project website, allows users to comment on the full report or comment on individual pages pulled from the document.

PHOENIX – Sending a safety message about dangerous speeding on the steep, winding stretch of Interstate 17 in the Black Canyon City area north of Phoenix, the Arizona Department of Transportation has activated six new electronic signs to tell drivers they’re traveling over the speed limit.

PICACHO – Crews will begin clearing ground near Interstate 10 south of Eloy this week as the Arizona Department of Transportation takes the first step in a project that will realign and widen 4 miles to three lanes in each direction.

The project also will create a first-in-in-the-nation pilot dust detection and warning zone designed to alert drivers to dangerous conditions in an area prone to blowing dust.

PHOENIX ‒ State Route 67 between Jacob Lake (US 89A) and the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is scheduled to close for the winter season on Tuesday, Dec. 5. 

ADOT doesn’t clear snow from SR 67 during the winter since North Rim visitor accommodations are closed. The highway reopens each spring, usually around mid-May. US 89A remains open during the winter.

ADOT reminds motorists heading into snow country to drive with caution and follow this advice:

PHOENIX – Have you sold your car online, to a person down the street, to a family member? Don’t forget to report that sale to the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division by filing a Sold Notice.

It’s not only the law; it can save you trouble – and money.

A Sold Notice should be completed within 10 calendar days of selling, trading in, donating or otherwise transferring ownership of a vehicle. It’s free and can be done anytime at ServiceArizona.com.

PHOENIX – The search for an 87-year-old edition of Arizona Highways magazine has a happy ending.

Dennis Chandler of Avondale, who collects all things Arizona, responded when editors of the magazine, produced by the Arizona Department of Transportation, said they were looking for a December 1930 edition to complete its digital library.

“You name it – if it’s Arizona and collectible, I collect it,” Chandler said.

PHOENIX – Drivers who use State Route 88 (the Apache Trail) for travel between Apache Junction and Tortilla Flat should allow extra time starting Monday, Nov. 27, due to work on a $6.5 million improvement project.

SR 88 initially will be narrowed to one lane along a 3-mile stretch of the historic roadway starting about 3 miles northeast of Apache Junction, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. When the highway is restricted, flag crews will alternate traffic through the work zone one direction at a time.

PHOENIX – Motorists who normally use Southern Avenue at 59th Avenue need to plan ahead and allow extra travel time as the Arizona Department of Transportation starts construction Monday, Nov. 27, on a Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway interchange in Laveen.

Southern Avenue will be closed at 59th Avenue through March so crews can build the southern half of one of the 22-mile freeway’s 13 interchanges.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has added large “Wrong Way” signs on Interstate 17 bridges and other structures between the Interstate 10 “Stack” interchange and Loop 101, facing in the direction of potential wrong-way drivers.

That’s the same 15-mile stretch where ADOT is installing a first-in-the-nation wrong-way detection and warning prototype that uses thermal cameras.

Placing these “Wrong Way” signs, each measuring 8 feet by 5 feet, is another way ADOT is testing countermeasures to get the attention of wrong-way drivers on I-17.

PHOENIX – A grant from the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety is helping the Arizona Department of Transportation collect fuller and more accurate vehicle crash data that, in turn, will help transportation engineers, law enforcement and researchers examine trends and causes of fatalities and serious injuries.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is seeking input from community members on a bridge rehabilitation project along Interstate 15 in the Virgin River Gorge with a public hearing on Nov. 29 in Littlefield.

Those attending the hearing, to be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Beaver Dam Lodge, 452 Old Highway 91 North, can review and comment on the draft environmental assessment for the bridge project. A formal presentation is scheduled from 6 to 6:30 p.m.

MARICOPA ‒ A project that will free Maricopa commuters from long waits as trains cross busy State Route 347 in the central part of the city is about the get underway.

Arizona Department of Transportation crews are preparing to begin work on a bridge on State Route 347 over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks just south of Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway. The two-year project also includes an overpass connecting southbound SR 347 to Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway, and a new route for northbound drivers on Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway.

PHOENIX – A new website will help make traffic incident response more efficient and vehicle travel safer for motorists in Arizona.

Created by the Arizona Department of Transportation and Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Arizona Traffic Incident Management website – tim.az.gov – debuts this week with the goal of being the go-to resource for Arizona TIM responder training.

PHOENIX – Another critical step in building the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway will start Monday, Nov. 27, as construction begins on the Southern Avenue interchange, work that will require an extended full closure of Southern at 59th Avenue.

The closure, scheduled to last through March, will allow crews to build the southern half of one of the South Mountain Freeway’s 13 interchanges, including moving more than 450,000 cubic yards of dirt. Sixteen concrete piers have already been planted to support a bridge over Southern Avenue.

PHOENIX – As the North-South Corridor environmental study progresses with some changes to the proposed corridor alternatives, the Arizona Department of Transportation, in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration, is now seeking comments on the options from the public and agencies.

PHOENIX – With winter on the horizon, the Arizona Department of Transportation has spent months preparing for snow and ice that storms will dump on the state’s higher elevations.

ADOT has 375 certified snowplow operators ready to operate the agency’s nearly 200 snowplows, which are stationed around the state to keep people and commerce moving when snow falls on highways.

PHOENIX – November 1997. Elton John again topped the charts with “Candle in the Wind.” Parents forked over $40 for a “Power Rangers Megazord” for the holidays, and “Harry Potter” was introduced to the world.

But Harry wasn’t alone in making his debut. The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division online service portal, ServiceArizona.com, opened for business 20 years ago this week.

PHOENIX – From minor incidents on high-volume freeways to serious collisions on lightly-traveled rural roads and everything in between, Traffic Incident Management keeps the traveling public moving and safe after incidents occur.

This week, the Arizona Department of Transportation and Arizona Department of Public Safety join other states and municipalities across the country in recognizing Traffic Incident Response Week.