News

PHOENIX – At the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway’s future interchange at 17th Avenue, patterned walls being assembled in Lego-like fashion offer a glimpse of a construction technique that’s essential to completing the project by late 2019.

These mechanically stabilized earth walls, commonly referred to as MSE walls, are concrete panels as large as 5-by-10 feet that fit into place. They are part of a system, used on Arizona Department of Transportation projects since the 1970s, using the walls and steel reinforcing straps to construct the retaining walls under bridges.

NOTE: This story is from the ADOT Blog.

By Peter Corbett / ADOT Communications

The King of the Cowboys has not been forgotten.

PHOENIX – Repairs to guardrail damaged by the Sawmill Fire on State Route 83 are complete and all restrictions on the roadway between Interstate 10 and Sonoita have been lifted, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

ADOT crews repaired about two miles of guardrail and supporting posts that were damaged in the fire. Several damaged road signs also were replaced.

PHOENIX – A Phoenix resident who allegedly used a stolen identity to get a duplicate driver license has been arrested thanks to Arizona Department of Transportation detectives’ use of facial recognition training and technology.

PHOENIX – With blasting and daily closures finished along State Route 77 between Globe and Winkelman, the roadway will be reduced to one lane each weekday through early June as crews complete a project to remove overhanging rock, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

A pilot vehicle will guide motorists through the work zone between mileposts 154 and 161, about 15 miles south of Globe, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays until Friday, June 2. Drivers should plan for delays of up to 20 minutes.

PHOENIX – A stretch of northbound 59th Avenue approaching Interstate 10 will be closed for several days starting Wednesday, May 3, for the relocation of a city of Phoenix sewer line. The work is part of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s project to build the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

Northbound 59th Avenue will be closed between Roosevelt Street and I-10 (Papago Freeway) from 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Monday, May 8.

Motorists should consider 51st or 67th avenues and Van Buren Street as alternate routes while northbound 59th Avenue is closed.

PHOENIX – Are you an experienced motorcycle rider looking to learn advanced techniques? A new rider learning the basics? Maybe you have to dust off your motorcycle before the occasional weekend ride?

If any of those situations sound familiar, consider taking a motorcycle rider course. And there’s no better time than now because May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.

PHOENIX – Drivers are already noticing a smoother ride on Interstate 17, and there’s more on the way as crews work to resurface more than 10 miles of the freeway between the downtown area and north Phoenix with a fresh layer of rubberized asphalt.

As the Arizona Department of Transportation’s $9.8 million I-17 Improvement Project between Dunlap and 19th avenues approaches the halfway mark, crews have already paved six miles southbound and five miles northbound.

PHOENIX —State Route 83 has reopened this afternoon south of Interstate 10 after being closed for nearly three days because of the Sawmill Fire, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Drivers can expect local delays as ADOT crews repair guardrails damaged by the fire. Lane restrictions and reduced speed limits are expected in the area where crews are working.

The road had been closed since the fire approached SR 83 on Monday afternoon.

TUCSON – Getting customers out of line and safely on the road doesn’t usually mean literally breaking down walls, but for one Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division office, it’s a way to continue making improvements for customers.

The Tucson Regional office, located southeast of downtown Tucson at 3565 S. Broadmont Drive, has been undergoing renovations to create a more open, orderly and customer-friendly layout. Completing this work will require a temporary two-day closure on Thursday, May 18, and Friday, May 19.

SAN LUIS RÍO COLORADO, Mexico – An Arizona Department of Transportation program aiming to reduce commercial vehicle wait times at the international border offered its first training in Mexico this week to help Mexican trucking firms better understand and prepare for safety inspections.

PHOENIX – With a contractor selected, the Arizona Department of Transportation is moving forward with a $13.9 million project to add new pavement to 12 miles of Interstate 40 between Flagstaff and Williams.

Meeting in Flagstaff on Friday, April 21, the State Transportation Board approved a contract for the project with FNF Construction. A schedule will be set in the coming weeks.

PHOENIX – Thousands entered, thousands voted and thousands of motorists on Arizona’s highways will see the results Friday of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Safety Message Contest.  

After tallying 8,000 votes for the 20 safety message finalists, the winning messages are:

THAT’S THE
TEMPERATURE – NOT
THE SPEED LIMIT 

PHOENIX – As the Interstate 11 environmental study progresses and new proposed corridor alternatives have taken shape, the Arizona Department of Transportation is once again looking to the public and agencies to get involved and comment on the work that’s been done over the past year.

Six public meetings have been scheduled in May as part of ADOT’s commitment to study and get input on a 280-mile-long corridor stretching from Nogales to Wickenburg.

PHOENIX – Like a lot of Arizona these days, the hillsides along State Route 87 south of Payson look mighty green after a wet winter. But that didn’t stop a brush fire from breaking out last week after a vehicle dragging chains threw sparks off the roadway, backing up traffic as first responders addressed the blaze.

When warmer temperatures turn all that ground cover brown, there will be even more reason for precautions to prevent brush fires along highways.

PHOENIX – An Arizona Department of Transportation project underway at the Twin Arrows interchange along Interstate 40 just east of Flagstaff will improve access for drivers.

The $4.5 million project between mileposts 218 and 220 will create new eastbound off- and on-ramps, and improve the bridge structure with new girders, wider abutments, a widened and repaved deck, and new safety barriers.

PHOENIX – With a 100-ton crane standing adjacent to Interstate 10 near 59th Avenue and an oversized drill rig parked nearby in the median, work is getting underway to construct piers supporting the flyover ramps for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway interchange at I-10 in the West Valley.

A series of closures of westbound I-10 between 51st and 67th avenues are needed during the next few weeks to move this equipment to begin work on structures that will carry traffic over I-10 when the South Mountain Freeway opens by late 2019.

PHOENIX – Slow down.

The Arizona Department of Transportation is sending that message to motorists traveling on a stretch of Pecos Road reconfigured for Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway construction.

ADOT and Connect 202 Partners, the developer building the South Mountain Freeway, have installed speed-monitoring equipment and signs showing motorists both how fast they are going and the reduced speed limit of 40 mph. The digital signs flash repeatedly when motorists travel more than 5 mph above the speed limit.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation continues to gather comments for its proposed Five-Year Construction Program by reaching out to all members of the public and communities statewide for their input on which projects should move forward over the next few years.

MARICOPA – While Lt. Mike Campbell hopes Maricopa Police Department officers never need to enter a home to remove a barricaded suspect, a partnership with the Arizona Department of Transportation has helped them prepare, just in case.