News

PHOENIX – A new agreement between Arizona and the Republic of Korea allows Arizonans staying longer than a year to obtain driver licenses in that country without having to take written and road tests.

Licensed drivers from South Korea will receive the same courtesy for stays in Arizona lasting more than a year.

On Tuesday, Arizona Department of Transportation Director John Halikowski and Key Cheol Lee, the Republic of Korea consul general in Los Angeles, signed a memorandum of understanding formalizing a reciprocity agreement.

Note: An ongoing Federal Highway Administration project will close State Route 89A south of Flagstaff between the Vista Point Overlook and JW Powell Boulevard on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. the following morning. No daytime restrictions are planned July 1-4.

PHOENIX – During the Independence Day weekend, state and local agencies are focusing on keeping motorists safe and placing equipment and resources along heavily traveled highways to help move traffic should incidents occur.

YUMA ‒ One of the Yuma area’s largest road construction projects in recent years will begin in mid-July, but preparations for the work mean road closures and restrictions on Araby and Gila Ridge roads at Interstate 8 will begin as soon as the July 4 holiday ends.

PRESCOTT VALLEY – While traffic has increased with growth, the Arizona Department of Transportation is smoothing the journey along State Route 69 through Prescott Valley using the latest in traffic-management technology.

PHOENIX – Traffic fatalities on Arizona’s local roads and state highways climbed higher for the second straight year and driver behavior continues to be a leading factor in motor vehicle collisions, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation’s annual Motor Vehicle Crash Facts report.

In 2016, 962 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes, 65 more than the year before, representing a 7.3 percent increase. The number of collisions also went up, rising 8.6 percent to 126,845. The increases in motor vehicle crashes and fatalities in Arizona follow national trends.

PHOENIX – Hate lining up in the morning to be the first person through the door at an MVD office? The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division is doing something about it.

For the past few weeks, MVD has been opening the doors at its Phoenix-area offices at 7:30 a.m. to see if it would help continue reducing the amount of time people need to spend at an MVD location.

PHOENIX ‒ With extreme heat in the forecast, it’s especially important for drivers to plan before taking to state highways, starting with having a fully charged cellphone as well as extra drinking water for all passengers, including pets.

Even though your vehicle has air conditioning, be ready in case you must spend extended time on the highway due to a breakdown or some other reason for delay. That starts with having sun protection, including sunscreen, an umbrella for shade, a wide-brimmed hat and loose-fitting, light-colored cotton clothing.

PHOENIX – Projects will increase capacity on key commerce corridors including Interstate 10, State Route 189, US 93 and Interstate 17 under the Arizona Department of Transportation’s construction program covering fiscal years 2018 through 2022.

On Friday, the State Transportation Board approved an annual update to ADOT’s Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program, which includes projects in Greater Arizona and the Maricopa County and Pima County regions. This followed a three-month comment period allowing the public and agencies to provide feedback.

YUMA – The Arizona Department of Transportation will begin construction of two new roundabouts at the interchange of Interstate 8 and Araby Road in Yuma this summer in order to help traffic flow in a busy area and accommodate future growth.

On Friday, the Arizona State Transportation Board awarded an $8 million contract to J. Banicki Construction Inc. with an expedited start date to begin the first phase of the project in mid-July.

PHOENIX – A summer program that introduces Arizona high school students to careers in transportation-related disciplines is expanding to include Gila Community College and Pima Community College in addition to instruction long offered by Arizona State University.

PHOENIX – Need to visit an MVD office? Leave that novel at home, you won’t need it to pass the time because the average time people spend at an Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division office has been cut in half in 2017 compared to last year.

So far in 2017, customers at the 15 MVD offices in metro Phoenix and Tucson are averaging fewer than 30 minutes from the moment they enter an office to the time they leave ‒ a trend that began in February and continues today.

PHOENIX ‒ Cases of chilled bottled water, protective lightweight clothing, sun visors and shaded tent areas, coupled with mandatory training on dealing with extreme heat, are just some of the ways crews building the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway are prepared for temperatures forecast to surge beyond 110.

PHOENIX – Drivers using Interstate 10 through west Phoenix should plan ahead to avoid two closures of the westbound lanes at 59th Avenue for initial work to build a flyover bridge that will eventually connect to the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

PHOENIX – A $3.7 million project to construct a first-in-the-nation thermal detection system, which will detect wrong-way vehicles and alert the other drivers and law enforcement of them on Interstate 17, was approved Friday afternoon by the State Transportation Board.

Last week, Governor Doug Ducey instructed the Arizona Department of Transportation to accelerate the construction of this system in light of recent wrong-way crashes, which resulted in Friday’s vote.

PHOENIX – Coming soon: Spectacular sunsets and brief heat relief from monsoon moisture.

Also coming soon: Low- or no-visibility on roadways caused by dust storms.

Monsoon season is returning to Arizona and during Monsoon Awareness Week, June 12-16, the Arizona Department of Transportation is reminding drivers how to stay safe on roadways when dust storms arrive.

PHOENIX – Less than six months after major construction began on the state’s largest single highway project ever, progress on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway has been swift.

PHOENIX – While their primary duty is manning ports of entry to make sure that commercial vehicles operate safely and legally on highways, officers with the Arizona Department of Transportation Enforcement and Compliance Division coordinate with local authorities when they come across criminal activity.

Case in point: two marijuana seizures this year from vehicles passing through the Topock Port of Entry, on Interstate 40 near the California line.

CAMP VERDE – Visitors and residents can better navigate a busy commercial area in Camp Verde just east of Interstate 17 thanks to a new roundabout installed by the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The revamped intersection of State Route 260 and Industrial Drive, an area where many travelers pull over for gasoline, a bite to eat or a cup of coffee, will keep traffic flowing smoothly in all directions, as well as in and out of businesses.

PHOENIX – Mild summer weather that makes Arizona’s high country a magnet for travelers also allows the Arizona Department of Transportation to begin work on paving projects, including one that will create a smoother ride along 12 miles of Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff.

PHOENIX – With overhanging rock removed from a mountainside along State Route 77 south of Globe, the Arizona Department of Transportation is lifting all restrictions on a seven-mile stretch after six months of blasting and follow-up work.

The safety project, which began last fall, removed boulders and other rock formations from a limestone cliff near Dripping Springs, between mileposts 154 and 161 about 10 miles south of Globe.

Drivers experienced regularly scheduled weekday closures and lane restrictions to allow for this work, which ended Friday, June 2.