News

PHOENIX – Drivers heading eastbound on Interstate 40 toward Williams and Flagstaff will use one of the westbound lanes for five miles starting Monday, Aug. 7, while Arizona Department of Transportation crews begin rebuilding the eastbound section of highway.

The project, occurring between mileposts 156 and 161, will rebuild the roadway from the ground up, including laying a new foundation. This work will be a long-term fix for the winter-weather damage this stretch has seen through the years.

PHOENIX – Arizona Department of Transportation officers seized $29,000 hidden in a small cooler when a truck driver and passenger arrived at an Interstate 40 port of entry near New Mexico with no registration, no trailer and a suspicious story.

The officers, whose primary duty is making sure commercial vehicles operate safely and legally in Arizona, found the money Tuesday, Aug. 1, after the truck driver and his passenger gave permission to search the cab for paperwork that would help identify the truck.

PHOENIX – The E-Verify process just got more secure for Arizona employers.

The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division has signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that makes it possible for DHS to verify the validity of driver’s license and ID cards against the MVD database. 

PHOENIX ‒ State Route 366 on Mount Graham in southeastern Arizona is closed until further notice because of safety concerns associated with flash floods and debris flows caused by the recent Frye Fire.

The road, also known as Swift Trail Parkway, is closed at Ladybug Saddle near milepost 31. The area is about 20 miles south of Safford.

The Noon Creek Picnic Area and Angle Orchard remain open to the public.

Drivers may encounter ADOT and US Forest Service crews working along the open section of SR 366. Delays as long as 30 minutes are possible.

Governor Doug Ducey has issued an emergency declaration in response to flooding along State Route 88 that caused highway damage between mileposts 201 and 214. The declaration seeks assistance from the Federal Highway Administration to make repairs to the roadway.

The affected stretch of SR 88 between Apache Junction and Canyon Lake is open, but motorists should drive with care and watch for traffic cones next to storm-damaged areas along the highway.

Learn more here:

PHOENIX – Construction of a first-in-the-nation system to detect wrong-way vehicles and alert law enforcement and other drivers is scheduled to begin in early August following State Transportation Board approval of the contract for installation.

PHOENIX – Thirty-one individuals seeking a hand up obtained entry-level positions as flaggers on construction projects, paying $13 to $19 per hour, thanks to free training provided by the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Those who took part in the flagger-certification program held this summer are the latest cohort in the Construction Academy Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program offered by ADOT’s On-The-Job-Training Supportive Services Program, part of the agency’s Business Engagement and Compliance Office.

PHOENIX – A Tempe resident who allegedly stole the identity of a baby killed 35 years ago has been arrested thanks to Arizona Department of Transportation detectives’ use of facial recognition training and technology.

Acting on a tip from the Social Security Administration, ADOT’s Office of Inspector General found that Jeremiah Ash, 35, had for the past several years been using the name, date of birth and Social Security number of Michael Anthony Lewis II, who was 10 months old when he was killed in Oceanside, California.

PHOENIX – Arizona’s specialty license plates come in many different colors, but one color they have in common is green – as in dollars.

In the most recent fiscal year ending June 30, sales of these plates generated more than $9.8 million for charitable causes and public programs. In the previous fiscal year, that figure totaled just under $9.4 million.

PHOENIX – With the city of Phoenix set to open its Chandler Boulevard extension between 27th and 19th avenues at 8:30 a.m. Friday, July 28, Pecos Road west of 17th Avenue will close permanently for construction of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

Westbound Pecos Road traffic will divert north at 17th Avenue, and the Chandler Boulevard extension will provide access to and from the Foothills Reserve Community, which motorists now reach via Pecos Road.

PHOENIX ‒ The Mohawk Rest Area has reopened on Interstate 8, giving drivers a new place to stop and rest, stretch their legs and exercise their pets on the drive across the desert between Yuma and Gila Bend.

The Arizona Department of Transportation rest area, located near the Mohawk Pass at milepost 56, includes all new facilities, including new restrooms as well as new plumbing, electrical systems and parking areas. The $4.6 million project also included making the rest area compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is part of every rest area renovation.

PHOENIX – To construct Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway in the Ahwatukee Foothills, crews have been using heavy equipment since April to excavate a hillside near Desert Foothills Parkway.

FLAGSTAFF – To address the beating a section of Interstate 40 just west of Williams has taken over many winters, the Arizona Department of Transportation will begin reconstructing five miles of roadway in both directions on Monday, July 24.

The $34 million project, which will start with the eastbound direction between mileposts 156 and 161, will literally rebuild the roadway from the ground up, including laying a new foundation.

PHOENIX – Just a year after beginning a study to determine how to improve efficiency and consistency at Arizona’s three primary international ports of entry, Arizona Department of Transportation officials already are seeing improvements that make the state a more attractive route for commercial carriers.

PHOENIX – Drivers should budget extra time and consider an alternate route between the Phoenix area and Rim Country, especially on the weekends, with State Route 87 reduced to one lane in each direction south of Payson for a critically needed project that is repairing a section of highway and stabilizing the terrain around it.

PHOENIX – With Pecos Road shifted to make room for the next phase of construction of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, the Arizona Department of Transportation is reminding motorists that a reduced 40 mph speed limit is in place through the entire segment of this local roadway in the Ahwatukee Foothills.

Last weekend, Pecos Road traffic between 17th Avenue and 24th Street shifted to an alignment that maintains two travel lanes in each direction while ensuring there’s a safe work zone to construct the freeway. 

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is proposing a diverging diamond interchange to replace roundabouts at the Interstate 17/Happy Valley Road interchange as a way to provide efficient and safe traffic flow for a growing area of north Phoenix.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division has released the updated Arizona Driver License Manual on the ADOT website. In addition to providing basic information essential to safe driving, the newest version of the manual also includes language to educate motorists on handling law enforcement traffic stops.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety, in partnership with local law enforcement agencies, created the language that outlines best practices for motorists who are pulled over.

PHOENIX – Pecos Road between 17th Avenue and 24th Street is shifting to an interim alignment for Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway construction.

During a weekend closure ending in time for the morning commute on Monday, July 17, the current eastbound lanes of Pecos Road will be widened and restriped to maintain two lanes of traffic in each direction along this nearly four-mile-long stretch in the Ahwatukee Foothills. 

TUCSON – Work to allow drivers to begin using the new Ajo Way bridge over Interstate 19 will mean travel restrictions beginning this week and continuing into late August.

Crews are preparing access roads and installing traffic signals that will allow traffic to begin using the new bridge, which is six feet higher and just south of the existing Ajo Way (State Route 86) bridge.

Beginning this week, I-19 will be reduced to one lane in each direction, from one mile north of Ajo Way to one mile south.