News

PHOENIX – Current Arizona driver licenses and state identification cards are valid for air travel until Oct. 1, 2020.

Period.

PHOENIX – With Valley drivers benefiting from several freeway improvement projects completed during 2016, including the widening of Loop 101 between Shea Boulevard and Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) in the Scottsdale area, the Arizona Department of Transportation is poised to start or complete several Phoenix-area projects in the coming year.

An Adele-inspired message struck a chord when ADOT Blog followers voted on their favorite safety slogans of 2016.

"Hello from the other side, buckle up & stay alive," which appeared on electronic message boards in August, had received more than 3,300 votes as of Wednesday, Jan. 4.

The runner-up was "Gobble, gobble go easy on the throttle," which got roughly 3,200 votes. "Mash potatoes not your head, buckle up," another Thanksgiving weekend offering, was third with more than 3,000 votes.

PHOENIX – Preliminary work on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway will require permanently closing the Pecos Road entrance to the 40th Street/Pecos Road Park-and-Ride location, which will remain accessible via 40th Street. The Pecos Road entrance will close late Friday, Jan. 13. 

The Arizona Department of Transportation and Connect 202 Partners, the developer responsible for the 22-mile-long freeway corridor, will soon start work to convert the current eastbound lanes of Pecos Road to carry traffic in both directions during construction of the freeway.

Some of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s biggest projects this year will occur in southern Arizona.

ADOT will continue replacing the interchange at Ajo Way (State Route 86) and Interstate 19 in Tucson. A project to create a modern interchange at Ina Road and I-10 in Marana will advance to include a two-year closure of Ina Road starting Feb. 15, making way for construction of a bridge carrying a widened Ina Road over the interstate and Union Pacific railroad tracks.

PHOENIX – ADOT has nearly 200 snowplows and 400 certified drivers stationed around the state to address snow and ice. But as Christmas weekend showed, especially on Interstate 40 from Flagstaff west to Ash Fork and on Interstate 17 south of Flagstaff, a snowstorm can be so intense that travel becomes unsafe quickly.

PHOENIX – Daytime blasting to remove potentially hazardous rocks will resume Tuesday, Jan. 3, in an effort to protect workers and motorists along State Route 77 south of Globe.

SR 77 will be closed in both directions between mileposts 154-161 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Monday through Thursday.  There will be no restrictions on Monday, Jan. 2, because of the New Year’s holiday.

PHOENIX – Drivers have a wider, safer US 60 climbing west from Superior, a new bridge that will eliminate flooding closures on US 95 near Yuma and a rehabilitated Virgin River Bridge No. 6 on Interstate 15 thanks to just some of the Arizona Department of Transportation projects completed this year in Greater Arizona.

More is on the way in 2017, including widening the last section of State Route 260 between Interstate 17 and Cottonwood, and starting work on a bridge carrying State Route 347 over railroad tracks in Maricopa.

PHOENIX – State routes 261 and 273 in Arizona’s high country will close for the winter at noon today in anticipation of a storm that will bring significant snowfall to parts of the state, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. The roads are among a handful of routes across the state that close annually for the winter and reopen when conditions improve in the spring.

PHOENIX ‒ Whether yours is a white Christmas or a wet Christmas, the Arizona Department of Transportation will make you a deal:

With rain and snow in the forecast, ADOT will be ready to respond before, during and after to whatever the weather may bring.

In return, you should study weather and highway conditions before your trip, leave prepared and drive with patience ‒ or delay travel if conditions warrant.

PHOENIX ‒ Both lanes of southbound Interstate 17 are open again between State Route 169 and State Route 69 after crews completed critically needed repairs at the Orme Road bridge, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The work required narrowing I-17 to one lane between mileposts 270 and 269 approaching Cordes Junction.

The work was initially expected to last until Saturday, but crews were able to complete it Thursday evening.

PHOENIX – Part of what makes Arizona an ideal place for Uber and other companies to test autonomous vehicle technology is that there are no special permits or licensing required. In Arizona, autonomous vehicles have the same registration requirements as any other vehicle, and nothing in state law prevents testing autonomous vehicles.

PHOENIX ‒ The combination of snow in the forecast and holidays can be a magnet for those looking to ski, sled or toss a few snowballs.

If you’re heading to play in the snow over Christmas or New Year’s weekends, leave prepared for the strong possibility that you’ll see heavy traffic and delays, especially on the trip home, in popular areas such as US 180 northwest of Flagstaff.

At day’s end, when people start heading home on US 180, it can take 90 minutes or longer to get back to Flagstaff.

PHOENIX ‒ Southbound Interstate 17 will be reduced to one lane until Saturday, Dec. 24, at Orme Road, between State Route 169 and State Route 69, as crews make critically needed repairs at the bridge, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

ADOT normally doesn’t perform work requiring lane restrictions over holiday weekends, but engineers have determined that these repairs, involving concrete on the bridge approach, must be performed immediately.

PHOENIX – Construction scheduled to start early next year on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway may not be as visual as the 22 miles of uninterrupted asphalt to come, but each task lays a foundation for completing this link between the West Valley and East Valley by the end of 2019.

MARANA ‒ The Arizona Department of Transportation is moving toward the next phase of creating a modern Ina Road interchange with Interstate 10 in the growing community of Marana northwest of Tucson.

The project, with a total construction cost of $148 million, will relieve traffic congestion by widening I-10 and by carrying a widened Ina Road over Union Pacific tracks that carry between 40 and 60 trains a day.

PHOENIX – Snow in Arizona’s high country is a magnet for desert dwellers looking to ski, sled, make snowmen and have snowball fights.

Too often, however, a vehicle full of people heading to play in the snow winds up parked on the shoulder of a state highway or even Interstate 17 rather than pulled safely into a designated parking area well off the road. This creates a hazard for more than just the occupants.

PHOENIX – Workers have laid the first pavement for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, pouring and finishing concrete to widen eastbound Pecos Road where it connects with the Loop 202 Santan Freeway at Interstate 10. 

This work, part of preliminary construction that began in September, adds to the shoulder of a half-mile stretch where crews are extending high-occupancy vehicle lanes between the Loop 202 Santan Freeway and 48th Street. 

Next month, this work will move to the median.

NOGALES – An Arizona Department of Transportation safety project to remove some roadside trees along Interstate 19 will begin next week.

The project will create recovery zones to help drivers regain control of their vehicles if they’ve left the pavement.

The work will begin Monday, Dec. 19, along Interstate 19 in the Nogales area and move north from there.

PHOENIX – A winter storm packing rain, wind and, later, the possibility of light snow and ice in the high country is all the more reason for Arizonans to drive with care and adjust their speed to conditions.