News

SURPRISE – Drivers now can skip detour routes and make direct connections between Grand Avenue (US 60) and Bell Road after the Arizona Department of Transportation opened all four ramps Thursday at the Valley’s newest highway interchange.

The new on- and off-ramps extend from the center median area along Grand Avenue to the recently completed Bell Road bridge as part of a $41.9 million project that started just over a year ago. Traffic signals on the overpass regulate turns between the ramps and Bell Road.

MARANA – Ina Road has closed at Interstate 10 to begin 25 months of construction on a modern traffic interchange that will make travel safer and smoother.

I-10 on- and off-ramps at Ina are also closed. Westbound I-10 traffic heading for Orange Grove Road is exiting at Sunset Road and continuing west on the frontage road.

Ina Road remains open east and west of I-10, and the Arizona Department of Transportation will maintain access to all businesses throughout the project.

PHOENIX – Just a few days remain to submit entries in the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Safety Message Contest.

The deadline to enter the contest is Sunday, Feb. 19. Safety message entries can be submitted at azdot.gov/signcontest. ADOT has received more than 7,000 submissions since the contest launched Feb. 6.

PHOENIX – The work may not scream “bridge construction” just yet, but that’s exactly what’s starting at several sites along the 22-mile-long South Mountain Freeway corridor.

Crews from Connect 202 Partners, developer of the South Mountain Freeway project, are constructing foundations for bridges at future Loop 202 interchanges with 17th Avenue, 24th Street and 40th Street along the freeway segment following Pecos Road and where the freeway will cross the Salt River south of Broadway Road in Laveen.

These are the first of 40 bridges planned along the freeway’s path.

SURPRISE – When drivers begin using ramps to and from Grand Avenue (US 60) at the new Bell Road bridge this week, the connections will be from the center of Grand Avenue.

PHOENIX – Sensors installed at three Interstate 40 locations west of Flagstaff are helping the Arizona Department of Transportation forecast the likelihood of ice forming and respond accordingly.

The combination of freezing temperatures and moisture means ice can form overnight in Arizona’s high country. It’s an especially big challenge on I-40 between Ash Fork and Flagstaff, which is above 6,000 feet in most places and sees heavy use by commercial and passenger vehicles.

MARANA – As part of the project to improve the Ina Road interchange at Interstate 10, the Orange Grove Road off-ramp from westbound I-10 will be closed and traffic shifted to the Sunset Road off-ramp.

The westbound frontage road will remain open to Orange Grove and north to the Orange Grove on-ramp. The frontage road north of the Orange Grove on-ramp will remain closed for the duration of the 25-month Ina Road project.

From the ADOT Blog ...

Looking for someplace out of the way to take your dear one? How about Love or Valentine?

If you’ve never heard of these two Arizona towns, it might be worth a road trip with your beloved.

PHOENIX – Good news for drivers using Interstate 10 west of downtown Phoenix: The westbound closure between 51st and 75th avenues has been lifted ahead of schedule.

One westbound lane of I-10 has reopened going into 51st Avenue , and crews are in the process of removing traffic barricades to reopen all lanes.

GOODYEAR – With each strand of reinforcing steel put in place and each truckload of earth moved, the Arizona Department of Transportation’s $63 million project to complete a traffic interchange linking Loop 303 with Interstate 10 in the West Valley continues to take shape.

Plans call for the “south half” of the interchange, which includes extending Loop 303 south from Thomas Road to Van Buren Street, to open to traffic by late fall. This work started nearly a year ago.

PHOENIX – There is never a good time to close a freeway, particularly one as busy as Interstate 10, but it’s absolutely necessary to ensure the safety of the traveling public and construction workers preparing for construction of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway interchange at 59th Avenue.

MARANA – While Ina Road will close at Interstate 10 for 25 months starting Wednesday, Feb. 15, the Arizona Department of Transportation is maintaining access to area businesses throughout construction of a modern traffic interchange serving a growing area.

In early 2019, motorists and area businesses will benefit from a bridge carrying Ina Road traffic over both I-10 and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, with ramps connecting to I-10.

The master plan study process for Grand Canyon National Park Airport, owned and operated by the Arizona Department of Transportation, continues with a public information workshop Wednesday, Feb. 15, in Williams.

Those attending the open house, to be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Williams Unified School District, 636 S. Seventh St., can review and comment on the study team’s forecast of aviation demand, assessment of current airport facility capabilities and suggested facility improvements to meet anticipated demand over the next 20 years.

PHOENIX – What difference can half an hour make? A huge one when it results in an 80 percent reduction in employee overtime.

The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division has seen major savings in those payroll costs since modifying the operating hours at its three Tucson-area offices. This change was brought about by MVD implementing Lean management techniques, part of the Arizona Management System, that empower employees to find ways to improve the customer experience.

PHOENIX – Motorists traveling between Holbrook and the East Valley may see Pony Express re-enactment riders carrying mail along state highways from Wednesday, Feb. 8, through Friday, Feb. 10, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Departing from Holbrook at 8 a.m. Wednesday, the Hashknife Pony Express riders will stop at post offices in Heber-Overgaard, Payson and Fountain Hills en route to their final destination in downtown Scottsdale. The Navajo County Sheriff’s Posse has been staging this 200-mile ride for nearly 60 years.

PHOENIX ‒ Three Arizona Department of Transportation employees working to keep highways open in recent storms avoided serious injury when vehicles struck two ADOT snowplows in separate crashes. The drivers of the other vehicles came out fine as well.

One of the plows wasn’t so lucky, however, when a semi rear-ended and severely damaged it Jan. 21 on Interstate 40 near Seligman. In addition to sending the two ADOT employees aboard to the hospital with minor injuries, the crash hindered ADOT’s efforts to clear snow and ice along that route.

PHOENIX – Arizona, show us your creativity. It might save a life.

You've seen the quirky safety messages the Arizona Department of Transportation displays on overhead signs – remember “Hello from the other side, buckle up and stay alive” and “New year, new you, use your blinker”?

Now, ADOT is kicking off its Safety Message Contest, and the winning safety slogan will appear on signs statewide. Beginning today, safety messages can be submitted at azdot.gov/signcontest until Feb. 19.

TUCSON – Proposals to improve traffic flow along Interstate 10 and State Route 210 connecting downtown Tucson with I-10 will be the subject of a public meeting in Tucson on Feb. 15.

The Arizona Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration will host the meeting that begins the second phase of a study to determine how best to improve mobility along Interstate 10 from Interstate 19 to Kolb Road, southeast of downtown Tucson.

PHOENIX – With another tax season at hand, the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division is once again offering a free online way to learn how much vehicle license tax you paid in 2016.

Vehicle Fee Recap, available through ServiceArizona.com, also allows vehicle owners to obtain the amount of any specialty license plate donations.

PHOENIX – With recent snowfall transforming much of Arizona’s high country into a winter wonderland, snow-play sites should become busy destinations this weekend. That means travelers can expect heavy traffic and delays around some popular areas.

Those heading to snow-play sites along US 180 should be prepared to spend extended time in winter conditions and be ready for traffic backups returning to Flagstaff that build as the afternoon goes on.