News

PHOENIX – A record 45,294 Arizonans registered Monday to vote in the general election through ServiceArizona.com, the customer website offered by the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Division.

Another 18,576 registered to vote on Sunday through ServiceArizona.com, with use beginning to spike during that evening’s presidential debate.

Demand was so great as Monday’s deadline to register loomed that ADOT worked with IBM, the provider behind ServiceArizona.com, to increase capacity.

PHOENIX - The Queen Creek Tunnel on US 60 east of Superior now has a light-emitting diode (LED) lighting system, making it Arizona’s first tunnel to have this innovative and energy-saving technology.

To clean the tunnel’s walls and ceilings after this installation, US 60 in the area will be closed in both directions for six hours every night beginning the evening of Monday, Oct. 10, and ending early Friday, Oct. 14. The closures, which are scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. and end at 4 a.m., will be in effect between Superior at milepost 226 and Oak Flat at milepost 231.

SURPRISE – The next week of construction on an overpass and interchange carrying Bell Road over Grand Avenue (US 60) includes adding concrete to the bridge deck on the west side of the project and continuing to get Bell Road ready for paving.

The $41.9 million Arizona Department of Transportation project remains on track to reopen Bell Road on Nov. 22, though unforeseen circumstances such as extreme weather can affect construction timelines.

PHOENIX ‒ Arizona’s network of highways requires transportation professionals specializing in areas as wide-ranging as planning routes, repairing bridges and creating beautiful landscaping along roadways.

To help ready the next generation of professionals to plan, operate and maintain a safe and efficient transportation system, the Arizona Department of Transportation employs nearly 40 interns whose work touches projects in every corner of the state.

PHOENIX ‒ Leave it to the new person to mess up the first time he tries applying reflective vinyl to make a road sign.

It seems so simple as he approaches the sign-making machine: Just slide a piece of polished aluminum under a roll of vinyl, press a pedal to start applying and …

Jam.

“What did I do?” he says as his understanding supervisor swoops in to free the metal, cut through the bunched-up vinyl and clear the machine for another try.

Rookie mistake. The new person tapped the pedal too early, and this particular sign is history.

TEMPE – The latest ideas and innovations for the future of transportation will be on display as transportation officials gather Tuesday, Oct. 4, for the 2016 Innovation Exchange Campaign, hosted by the Arizona Council for Transportation Innovation.

The annual event brings together the Arizona Department of Transportation and other professionals in the transportation industry to share and learn about the latest technology advancements and innovations in transportation.

SURPRISE – Crews building a $41.9 million overpass and interchange at Bell Road and Grand Avenue (US 60) are reconstructing a median on Bell Road while they continue adding ramps to and from Grand Avenue.

The median work, on the east side of the Arizona Department of Transportation project, is among steps crews are taking to get Bell Road ready to reopen. That’s expected to happen on Nov. 22, though extreme weather and other unforeseen circumstances can affect project timelines.

PHOENIX – A driver license verification program used by the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division now makes it possible to request Social Security card replacements online through the Social Security website and simplifies the already-existing process of getting a person’s identifying information verified when making a major purchase or obtaining a loan.

PHOENIX – With a goal of improving the rush-hour traffic flow, the Arizona Department of Transportation will test changes in the timing of ramp-meter signals along one Phoenix-area freeway.

Starting the week of Oct. 3, afternoon rush-hour drivers using on-ramps along northbound State Route 51 (Piestewa Freeway) are likely to notice longer red lights at ramp meters as ADOT takes a look at how the signal adjustments affect freeway traffic.

NOGALES – A project to make it easier for ever-increasing international commerce to move through Nogales will begin in 2019, two years ahead of schedule, under changes approved by the Arizona State Transportation Board. 

A $25 million appropriation passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Governor Doug Ducey aimed at accelerating this project made it possible for work to start earlier than originally planned. In addition, $40 million in federal funds will go toward SR 189 improvements approved to begin in 2019.

PHOENIX – Public meetings beginning next week will allow community members to review and provide feedback on updated design plans for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

The project development team, Connect 202 Partners, and Arizona Department of Transportation will hold three meetings on preliminary design plans that have been further developed since they were last circulated for public comment in 2013 along with the Draft Environment Impact Statement:

SURPRISE – As a bridge carrying Bell Road over Grand Avenue (US 60) continues taking shape, crews are building retaining walls for ramps to and from Grand Avenue.

These walls, used elsewhere on the bridge, hold stabilized earth for the structure.

Work on the $41.9 million Arizona Department of Transportation project will require these traffic restrictions:

PHOENIX – Arizona Highways, a world-renowned magazine that has been sharing stories and dramatic photography of Arizona for almost as long as the state has had roads, added to its reputation for excellence with 20 awards at this month’s International Regional Magazine Association conference.

The magazine, published by the Arizona Department of Transportation, won five first-place Gold Awards, including one for the April issue celebrating the 90th anniversary of Arizona Highways, which published its first edition on April 15, 1925.

PHOENIX – To deter unsafe lane changes that can result in crashes, Arizona Department of Transportation crews will install a series of lane separator posts by this weekend along the westbound US 60 (Superstition Freeway) HOV lane between Kyrene Road and Interstate 10 in Tempe.

The white polyurethane posts, also known as lane delineators, are being installed to discourage westbound US 60 drivers using the HOV lane from making sudden lane changes as they approach the I-10 interchange.

The installation will require the following overnight restrictions along westbound US 60:

PHOENIX – Planning Arizona’s transportation future requires setting priorities and making sometimes-difficult choices given limited resources.

As the Arizona Department of Transportation updates its Long-Range Transportation Plan, a blueprint looking from now through 2040, an interactive online survey allows you to help shape this vision by walking through scenarios similar to those facing planners and policymakers. 

PHOENIX – Planning for the South Mountain Freeway took into account rapid growth expected in the East Valley and West Valley and the substantial time savings drivers will see from having an alternative to an already strained Interstate 10 through downtown Phoenix.

According to projections for 2035, someone taking the South Mountain Freeway from Gilbert, Chandler or Queen Creek to a job in the West Valley will save up to 25 minutes on average versus traveling on I-10 between the Loop 202 Santan Freeway and the South Mountain Freeway’s connection with I-10 in west Phoenix.

YUMA – Drivers who have been anticipating a new bridge to carry US 95 traffic over the flood-prone Fortuna Wash don’t have much longer to wait: The bridge is expected to begin taking traffic by the end of November.

The final two concrete pours to complete the deck of the bridge are planned Thursday, Sept. 22, and again on Thursday, Oct. 6, beginning each night about 10 p.m. and continuing until about 6 a.m. the following day. Drivers on US 95 may experience minor delays during those times.

SHOW LOW – An initiative that has reduced wait times at Motor Vehicle Division offices is one of the big results of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s commitment to continuous improvement. But even finding a better way to fill a water tank used for treating roadside weeds is helping ADOT provide better service for Arizonans.

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.