News

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.

PHOENIX ‒ State Route 473 leading to Hawley Lake in the White Mountains will close for the winter on Thursday, Nov. 16, at its junction with State Route 260, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The 10-mile-long highway east of Pinetop-Lakeside will remain closed until at least April 15.

Other high-country state highways that will close over the next six weeks include SR 67 leading to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. That route, traveling 43 miles south from US 89A, will close Friday, Dec. 1, unless a major snowstorm occurs before then.

PHOENIX – An ongoing Interstate 10 pavement-improvement project between State Route 587 (Casa Blanca Road) and the Gila River bridge south of Chandler will require overnight lane restrictions next week, Nov. 13-17, 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:

PHOENIX – Arizona residents who buy cars out of state now have a much easier way to pay the city and state use taxes.

Working with the Arizona Department of Revenue, the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division is now able to accept these payments when the buyer registers his or her vehicle at an MVD or Authorized Third Party office.

PHOENIX – A public meeting on the selection of a recommended alignment for a 14-mile segment of State Route 30 in the West Valley is scheduled for the evening of Thursday, Nov. 16.

The Arizona Department of Transportation is hosting the meeting so the public can learn more and provide comments about the recommended alignment, or “build alternative,” for State Route 30 between the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway (at 59th Avenue) in west Phoenix and Sarival Avenue in Goodyear.

PHOENIX – When the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway opens to traffic in late 2019, sound walls lining one or both sides along 11 of its 22 miles will reduce noise near neighborhoods and incorporate designs specific to various segments.

As the corridor looks more and more like the freeway it will become, crews have started building sound walls between 40th and 48th streets in Ahwatukee and near the Interstate 10 interchange at 59th Avenue in west Phoenix.

PHOENIX – Sections of Interstate 17 in Phoenix will be narrowed to one lane during overnight hours this week for overhead sign work, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Drivers should allow extra travel time and be prepared to slow down and use caution when approaching and traveling through the following work zones:

PHOENIX – After two years of research and analysis, the public now has the opportunity to comment on the Arizona Department of Transportation’s draft long-range plan, outlining strategies for meetings the state’s highway and bridge needs over the next 25 years.

ADOT’s Tentative Long-Range Transportation Plan, which is required to be updated every five years, is available for comment through Dec. 21. 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.

NOGALES – The Federal Highway Administration has cleared the way for the Arizona Department of Transportation to begin design and construction of vital improvements to State Route 189, the 3.75-mile roadway connecting the Mariposa Port of Entry with Interstate 19 in Nogales.

MARANA – Over the next three months, drivers in northwestern Pima County will see important advances as the two-year Interstate 10/Ina Road traffic interchange project moves on schedule toward the halfway point.

With pavement now in place for what will become the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 at Ina Road, crews will begin steps to move traffic to those new lanes so work can begin on the westbound lanes of I-10.

PHOENIX ‒ The Sacaton Rest Area on Interstate 10 south of the Phoenix area will reopen Monday, Nov. 6, with a six-month renovation now scheduled to begin in January, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Septic tanks the contractor has custom-ordered for the $3 million project are scheduled to take more time to arrive than originally anticipated, and ADOT decided to open the rest area through the busy holiday travel season. The move doesn’t affect the project’s cost.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is seeking public input on options for the US 60 bridge over Pinto Creek, including the agency’s decision to pursue removing and replacing the structure.

NOGALES ‒ The Arizona Department of Transportation has applied for a $25 million federal TIGER grant to allow construction of all proposed improvements to State Route 189 in Nogales at the same time, beginning in 2019.

The $25 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant would go toward construction of a southbound flyover ramp at Interstate 19 in addition to the northbound flyover ramp that’s currently funded, as well as a bridge over Frank Reed Road and other improvements to the 3.75-mile route connecting the Mariposa Port of Entry with I-19.

PHOENIX ‒ Arizona Highways has won 10 top prizes, including Magazine Writer of the Year and Photographer of the Year, from the International Regional Magazine Association.

At the association’s recent meeting in Banff, Canada, the Arizona Department of Transportation-produced magazine took home 22 awards in all, the most in the competition, and was a finalist for Magazine of the Year for work published in 2016.

PHOENIX – Arizona Department of Transportation crews will be doing pavement preservation along a nearly 20-mile stretch of Interstate 17 near Cordes Junction early next week.

The project will require alternating lane closures in each direction along the interstate between Crown King and State Route 169. Work will take place on Monday, Oct. 30, and Tuesday, Oct. 31, between 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

PHOENIX – Drivers on US 70 between Safford and Globe in Graham County should expect delays over the next few months as Arizona Department of Transportation crews complete a repaving project.

Work will take place from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays in the San Carlos Apache community of Bylas, located about 44 miles east of Globe and about 34 miles west of Safford. Work is expected to continue until spring 2018. The work will take place between mileposts 293 and 297.

PHOENIX – The skyline is changing almost daily at Interstate 10 and 59th Avenue as an interchange takes shape that will connect with the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway in west Phoenix.

After work completed last weekend, motorists now see the first girders, more than six stories above I-10, for a flyover ramp that will carry South Mountain Freeway traffic to westbound I-10.

PHOENIX – Pecos Road between 40th and 24th streets will be closed this weekend for utility work for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway. The Arizona Department of Transportation is urging Ahwatukee motorists to consider alternate routes, such as Chandler Boulevard.

The Arizona Department of Transportation, as part of a process to streamline environmental reviews for certain projects while fulfilling all federal requirements, has initiated the process to assume environmental authority and review responsibility required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for many federally funded highway projects statewide.