News

TUCSON – A temporary bridge rolling into place Wednesday between the eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 10 at Craycroft Road will keep traffic flowing while the Arizona Department of Transportation replaces bridge decks there.

The $3.3 million project extending the life of the bridges at Craycroft Road will begin with eastbound traffic moving to the temporary bridge and crews working on the eastbound bridge deck. Westbound lanes are scheduled to move to the temporary bridge in June, when work shifts to the westbound bridge deck.

PHOENIX – Looking a bit like a colorful Stonehenge or large-scale modern art, a series of concrete columns and walls at a west Phoenix intersection may be a little puzzling to passers-by. They’re actually mock-ups the Arizona Department of Transportation is using to test aesthetics, including paint colors, for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

PHOENIX – After another snowstorm earlier this week, Arizona Department of Transportation maintenance crews are patrolling northern Arizona highways to locate and address potholes while they conduct more involved pavement repairs on stretches of Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff.

Crews will lay asphalt over existing pavement to smooth rough sections of I-40 at milepost 86 westbound and milepost 98 eastbound between US 93 and Seligman, as well as between mileposts 170 and 177 eastbound, about 10 miles east of Williams.

PHOENIX ‒ A safety project to remove overhanging rock along State Route 77 between Globe and Winkelman east of the Phoenix area will require an additional month of daytime restrictions, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Because of the difficult terrain crews have encountered blasting and removing debris, full closures between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays are now scheduled to continue through the end of April.

PHOENIX – Playing the part of a transportation planner isn’t always easy, especially when it comes to balancing priorities for Arizona’s highway system with the realities of limited funding.

When the Arizona Department of Transportation turned to the public and stakeholders last fall to tell us what’s most important to them over the next 25 years, nearly 6,000 people statewide responded through a quick and interactive online survey.

PHOENIX – Education and cooperation on both sides of the international border make for safer and more efficient movement of commercial truck traffic between Arizona and Mexico.

That’s the theme of meetings, events and programs the Arizona Department of Transportation offers for transportation leaders, elected officials and heads of trucking firms on both sides of the border. ADOT’s goal: educating the trucking industry about how safety compliance can reduce inspection times and make roads safer.

PHOENIX – To enhance safety and improve traffic flow in a growing area of the Verde Valley, the Arizona Department of Transportation is set to begin upgrading nine miles of State Route 260 to four-lane divided highway between Camp Verde and Cottonwood west of Interstate 17.

The $62 million project, scheduled to start Monday, March 6, also will create seven roundabout intersections at Thousand Trails Road, Coury Drive, Cherry Creek Road, Horseshoe Bend Drive, Wilshire Road and two locations that will accommodate future development.

PHOENIX – From speeding and impairment, texting and seat belt use, to general driving safety tips, Arizonans conveyed their thoughts on transportation safety creatively in the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Safety Message Contest.

After receiving nearly 7,000 submissions, 20 finalists have been selected to advance to the next round of the contest. Now it’s up to you to decide which two will appear on signs above Arizona’s highways.

From today through March 15, you can view and vote on the finalists at azdot.gov/signcontest.

While continuing efforts to connect occupants with services, the state is assisting organizers of an encampment on Arizona Department of Transportation land in Mesa with plans to relocate.

Out of concern for the health, safety and well-being of those at the site, ADOT began discussions last week with camp organizers about plans to relocate and notified them Friday that they would need to move on. At the request of organizers, the state will allow the encampment near the Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway and McKellips Road to remain until March 20.

SURPRISE – When spring training baseball returns to Surprise Stadium on Saturday, fans will benefit from a new interchange at Grand Avenue (US 60) and Bell Road made possible by residents of Maricopa County.

PHOENIX – In a digital world there is still plenty of room for tradition, and the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division is no exception.

Cash is king in many households, and the MVD is now making it possible for more customers to handle transactions that way by adding ServiceArizona kiosks that accept cash transactions to 22 MVD offices throughout Arizona.

PHOENIX – An 11-mile stretch of Interstate 17 (Black Canyon Freeway) in Phoenix will be resurfaced with a new layer of smooth rubberized asphalt starting in mid-March.

The work is part of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s $9.8 million I-17 improvement project between Peoria Avenue in north Phoenix and 19th Avenue south of the downtown area, which started last fall with sidewalk and wheelchair ramp improvements at cross-street interchanges.

MARANA – Drivers on Interstate 10 near Ina Road will need to be alert for lane restrictions and a few changes now that a 25-month Arizona Department of Transportation project to rebuild the Ina Road traffic interchange has begun.

Westbound I-10 will be restricted to one lane between Sunset and Cortaro roads beginning at 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, as crews prepare to shift traffic to the westbound frontage road. That change, set to be in place by 5 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, will remain in place for about 12 months.

PHOENIX – After the back-to-back winter storms that took a toll on highways in Arizona’s high country, Arizona Department of Transportation maintenance crews are continuing to repair pavement along Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff.

This week, maintenance crews completed pavement repairs along I-40 and I-17 in the Flagstaff area.

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.