News

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation, White Mountain Apache Tribe and U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs are working together to remove trees considered hazards along the State Route 260 right of way through the eastern Arizona reservation.

SURPRISE ‒ Grand Avenue (US 60) will be closed overnight between Dysart and Litchfield roads beginning Friday, Sept. 23, for work on an overpass and interchange under construction at Bell Road.

An overnight closure that was scheduled to begin tonight (Friday, Sept. 16) has been moved to next week.

PHOENIX – The first phase of construction on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway will begin on Monday, Sept. 19, with improvements at the Interstate 10/Loop 202 (Santan Freeway) interchange in the East Valley.

PHOENIX – A project to make several safety improvements along State Route 88, also known as the Apache Trail, will be discussed during the Apache Junction City Council’s meeting on Monday evening, Sept. 19.

The Arizona Department of Transportation will deliver a presentation about the SR 88 Improvement Project, slated to start in spring 2017, as part of the council meeting. Members of the public are invited to provide feedback or other comments following the ADOT project team’s presentation.

US 89 through the Navajo Nation community of Cameron has a wider roadway, two new bridges over the Little Colorado River, a modern roundabout at the junction with State Route 64, and underpasses for people and livestock thanks to a recently completed Arizona Department of Transportation project.

PHOENIX – The 62-year-old State Route 89 bridge at Hell Canyon will be removed on Sept. 16.

The Arizona Department of Transportation replaced the 1954 bridge, which no longer met state and federal design standards for larger and heavier vehicles, earlier this year. The new bridge is better able to accommodate commercial traffic, particularly oversized loads, between Prescott and Interstate 40.

PHOENIX – Southern Arizona drivers can expect minor delays for the next eight months on State Route 92 in southern Cochise County as crews work to replace a 61-year-old bridge over the San Pedro River.

The bridge will close from 7 a.m.  to 3 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 12, so Arizona Department of Transportation workers can put temporary striping, construction barriers and a traffic signal in place. Drivers will use Palominas and Hereford roads as an alternate.

PHOENIX – Want to avoid lines at MVD offices? Chances are good that you can take care of business online instead.

According to data collected by the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division, 51 percent of the transactions that happen in MVD offices every business day could be done online instead. These range from very common transactions such as renewing a vehicle registration or replacing a driver license/identification card to smaller but still important things such as getting a decal for an off-road vehicle or a customer refund.

PRESCOTT – An Arizona Department of Transportation conference in October will help owners of small businesses and those qualifying for ADOT’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program learn how to bid for projects and contracts.

PHOENIX ‒ Universities are back in session, football season is underway and school spirit is in the air ‒ and on many vehicle bumpers.

More and more alumni and other fans are showcasing school colors with specialty plates offered by the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division. In the process, they’re raising hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for scholarships.

PHOENIX – Thirteen years of public involvement helped shape plans for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway. With the Arizona Department of Transportation preparing to begin construction along the 22-mile corridor, the community can continue providing feedback and seeking information by attending meetings, connecting online and using other resources.

SURPRISE ‒ From the rising walls and columns bearing a distinctive agave pattern to the bridge sections receiving a concrete deck, a $41.9 million overpass and interchange under construction at Bell Road and Grand Avenue (US 60) remains on track to reopen Bell Road to traffic in November.

Glendale City Court is the newest addition to the growing roster of kiosks available to Arizonans doing business with the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division.

Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers was on hand Thursday to help open the latest location in MVD’s ongoing effort to improve customer experience by making services available in more public spaces like city courts.

Glendale joins El Mirage, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Surprise and Tucson as court kiosk locations in addition to those located in MVD offices statewide.

TUCSON – The Arizona Department of Transportation is beginning a year-long pilot program allowing slightly heavier trucks in one of the state’s key transportation corridors, responding to requests from area leaders to help make commercial traffic more efficient.

PHOENIX – Since 1991, the Arizona Department of Transportation has launched projects by engaging partners from contractors to municipalities to other agencies in a process of agreeing to what they want to accomplish, how they will communicate and how they will resolve disputes.

Known as partnering, this process helps deliver projects on time and with far fewer conflicts that can lead to mediation, arbitration or litigation costing both parties as well as taxpayers.

PHOENIX ‒ Recognizing the need of families to grieve in different ways for those killed in crashes, the Arizona Department of Transportation has established a policy allowing memorial markers along state-maintained highways in a way that minimizes risks for motorists, families and ADOT personnel.

Developed with input from community members, the policy specifies a maximum size and establishes standards for materials and placement so markers present less chance of distracting passing drivers or damaging vehicles leaving the roadway.

SURPRISE ‒ Construction of an interchange and overpass that will improve traffic at Grand Avenue (US 60) and Bell Road is moving forward in stages.

A current focus of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s $41.9 million improvement project is giving eastbound lanes of US 60 a makeover.

SCOTTSDALE – Drivers on the now-wider Loop 101 (Pima Freeway), where new lanes have been added south of Shea Boulevard, may also have noticed construction crews working in recent months to transplant large saguaros, other cactuses and trees that had temporarily been stored in nurseries near the freeway. Many of the tall saguaros have been around longer than Arizona has been a state.

PHOENIX – Taking the road test for a driver license has long involved showing up at an Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division office early in hopes of getting a time slot to take the test that day. And often plenty of waiting.

That’s changing as of this week. Customers are now able to schedule road tests up to 30 days in advance through ServiceArizona.com for 11 office locations in the Phoenix metro area and northern Arizona. MVD will be bringing remaining offices online over the next two weeks.

PHOENIX – Construction of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway is scheduled to begin in early September after the U.S. District Court in Phoenix dismissed legal challenges and ruled that the Arizona Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration completed all steps required to move forward.