News

MARANA – Six months in, signs of progress abound at an Arizona Department of Transportation project creating a modern traffic interchange at Ina Road and Interstate 10 and more efficient traffic flow through a growing area.

Crews recently poured concrete to create a deck for the first of two new bridges carrying Ina Road over the Santa Cruz River just west of I-10.

PHOENIX – Southern Arizona residents and business operators are invited to ask questions and offer comments about options for improving the Interstate 19 east frontage road between Rio Rico and Ruby Road at a public meeting on Sept. 13.

The event will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Calabasas Middle School, 131 Camino Maricopa in Rio Rico. The meeting will be an open house format with a presentation beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Community input will help determine which alternative will be selected for design and construction of improvements on the east frontage road.

PHOENIX ‒ The Arizona Department of Transportation is helping urgently needed equipment reach Texas as quickly as possible by waiving fees and expediting permits so commercial vehicles hauling oversize loads can get there faster.

The effort began over the weekend so trucks hauling eight emergency generators could depart a Caterpillar facility in Phoenix for Fort Hood, Texas, about 200 miles northwest of Houston. The generators will provide power for emergency crews responding to areas flooded and damaged by Hurricane Harvey.

PHOENIX – Lane restrictions that have been in place for urgently needed repairs along State Route 87 south of Payson are being temporarily lifted for the busy Labor Day travel period.

One lane has been closed in each direction between mileposts 223 and 226 so the Arizona Department of Transportation can repair the roadway and drainage systems and stabilize the terrain after sensors detected slight ground movement near Slate Creek, about 25 miles south of Payson.

PHOENIX – Opening a new customer service location usually means cutting a ribbon at the door, but that can’t happen at the newest Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division offices because they’re located entirely in cyberspace.

An analysis of MVD customer traffic for the 2017 fiscal year shows that the upsurge in online usage at ServiceArizona.com and its associated kiosks is essentially the same amount of traffic experienced at two large urban “brick and mortar” MVD offices.

PHOENIX – A pavement-improvement project along Interstate 10 between the Gila River Bridge and State Route 587 (Casa Blanca Road) will require overnight lane restrictions this week (Aug. 28-Sept. 1), according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. No restrictions will be scheduled over the Labor Day holiday weekend beginning Friday afternoon.

Drivers should allow extra travel time and consider alternate routes if possible while the following restrictions are in place:

PHOENIX – Work begins this week on a project to renovate the junction of State Route 79 and SR 79B south of Florence, providing a safer intersection for travelers in central Pinal County.

Arizona Department of Transportation crews will begin work Monday, Aug. 28. The work, which is designed to improve safety, is expected to continue through November.

SR 79, currently divided into separate northbound and southbound roadways, will be combined into a single road carrying traffic both north and south. The existing one-way southbound lane will be closed and removed.

PHOENIX – Motorists should drive with caution and expect delays of up to 20 minutes as the Arizona Department of Transportation begins repairs Monday, Aug. 28, to a flood-damaged stretch of State Route 88 (Apache Trail) between Apache Junction and the area east of Canyon Lake.

Work on the two-month project will occur between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays between mileposts 196 and 220. The highway will be narrowed to one lane in half-mile increments, with a pilot vehicle guiding drivers through the work zone.

No work is scheduled over Labor Day weekend.

GOODYEAR – Crews working to build the last phase of the Loop 303/Interstate 10 traffic interchange in Goodyear have reached another milestone.

New stretches of separate north- and southbound Loop 303 frontage roads between McDowell Road and Van Buren Street opened to traffic as scheduled on Saturday, Aug. 19, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

YUMA ‒ Farm equipment operators will have a one-hour window each morning to move through the Araby Road work zone at Interstate 8.

The Arizona Department of Transportation has designated 10-11 a.m. daily as a travel window for farm equipment operators to move through the area where ADOT crews are building new roundabouts at the Araby traffic interchange. Travel is restricted to one lane in each direction during the work, which will continue until about Nov. 1.

PHOENIX – A pavement-improvement project along Interstate 10 between the Gila River Bridge and State Route 587 (Casa Blanca Road) will require overnight lane restrictions and some ramp closures starting Sunday night, Aug. 20, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Drivers should allow extra travel time and consider alternate routes if possible while the following restrictions are in place the week of Aug. 20-25:

PHOENIX – An Arizona Department of Transportation project to improve the pavement along SR 77 in Snowflake will begin Monday, Aug. 21. Drivers should allow up to 20 extra minutes of travel time on weekdays with the work scheduled to end by this fall.

SR 77 will be narrowed to one lane in areas between mileposts 361 and 373 during daylight hours Mondays through Fridays. Flag crews will be in place to direct traffic one direction at a time through the work zone.

No work will take place from Friday, Sept. 1 through Monday, Sept. 4 for the Labor Day holiday weekend.

PHOENIX – Big changes are in store for the Interstate 10 traffic interchange at 59th Avenue in west Phoenix. Built in 1984, it’s being reconstructed to eventually link to the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway when it opens to traffic in late 2019.

Motorists who regularly travel I-10 between the West Valley and downtown Phoenix have already noticed an ever-changing landscape.

PHOENIX – The first traffic restrictions required for the installation of a first-in-the-nation pilot wrong-way vehicle detection and warning system are scheduled this weekend at the Interstate 17 interchange at Indian School Road in Phoenix.

Preliminary work started in the past week on the Arizona Department of Transportation’s $3.7 million thermal-camera based project designed to immediately alert ADOT and the Department of Public Safety if a wrong-way vehicle is detected along a 15-mile stretch of I-17.

PHOENIX – Since the Arizona Department of Transportation began using facial recognition technology and training in 2015 to protect Arizonans from identity theft, detectives have brought more than 100 cases to court.

It’s a process that begins when a person applies for or renews a driver license or ID card at a Motor Vehicle Division office or Authorized Third Party business, and it is a seamless part of the customer’s visit.

PHOENIX – A Mesa resident who allegedly used the identity of his deceased brother to collect nearly $300,000 in Social Security benefits has been charged with forgery and fraud schemes thanks to Arizona Department of Transportation detectives’ use of facial recognition training and technology.

After being alerted by the facial recognition system, ADOT’s Office of Inspector General found that Frank Becht, 89, had for the past 28 years been using the name, date of birth and Social Security number of his brother, Kenneth Becht, who died in 1989.

PHOENIX – A popular smartphone messaging app is helping to make Arizona roads safer for motorists and truck drivers while reducing congestion at the international border and boosting Arizona’s economy.

As part of a first-of-its-kind safety certification program for truck drivers and trucking firms in Mexico, the Arizona Department of Transportation is using WhatsApp to help qualified drivers and mechanics know whether their trucks meet Arizona safety requirements before heading to the border.

PHOENIX – Creating the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway’s interchange with Interstate 10 in west Phoenix is no small feat of engineering, starting with the need to have supports for flyover ramps to straddle existing lanes of traffic.

PHOENIX – Organ donation saves lives and registering to become a donor is as simple as checking a box at the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division.

Jaimy Burdine of Buckeye was a donor who ultimately impacted many more lives.

On April 5, 2015, Jaimy and her son and mother, Vikki, kicked off the day by going on a horse cart ride. However, the peaceful ride turned into tragedy when the horse was startled and began to run uncontrollably.

PHOENIX – Starting this week, the timing of ramp-meter signals along southbound State Route 51 (Piestewa Freeway) are being adjusted to respond to the flow of morning rush-hour traffic, expanding an Arizona Department of Transportation program that began last fall along the freeway’s northbound on-ramps.