News

PHOENIX – Flashing orange lights. Bright orange traffic cones. Striped barrels and barricades.

You’re entering a work zone.

What coincidental timing, too, because the Arizona Department of Transportation is marking the beginning of National Work Zone Awareness Week (April 11-15) today.

PHOENIX ‒ Four-hour closures of US 60 between Globe and Superior are planned for Tuesday, April 12, and Thursday, April 14, as crews complete passing-lane and shoulder-widening work, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

PHOENIX ‒ The Tucson facility where the Arizona Department of Transportation repairs and maintains its vehicles has significantly reduced the amount of trash it generates by recycling scrap metal, batteries, automotive fluids, paper and more. Converting to LED lighting has reduced energy use.

Along with ADOT’s repair facility in Springerville, the Tucson operation has been recognized through the agency’s Green Shop program, which seeks to minimize environmental impact, cut waste and increase recycling at 22 ADOT Equipment Services locations.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation continues to gather comments for its proposed five-year construction program by reaching out to the public and communities statewide for their input on which projects should move forward over the next few years.

The second public hearing for the 2017-2021 Tentative Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, April 15, at the ADOT Administration Building Auditorium, 206 S. 17th Ave. in Phoenix. The monthly State Transportation Board meeting will follow the public hearing.

PHOENIX – This weekend’s planned full closure of northbound Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) between Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) and Thomas Road for rubberized asphalt paving has been postponed with rain and cooler temperatures in the forecast, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Crews are scheduled instead to resurface several northbound Loop 101 on- and off-ramps and right merge lanes in the Scottsdale area late Friday night and Saturday (April 8-9).

PHOENIX ‒ Who says doing business with a government agency has to involve lots and lots and lots of paper?

Thanks to improvements to how the Arizona Department of Transportation presents project opportunities online, contractors’ recycle bins are getting lighter. Those interested in bidding for projects now can simply determine which projects they want to pursue and download related documents.

PHOENIX – Community members, businesses and stakeholders are invited to provide their input and ideas to shape the long-range vision for Arizona’s transportation system during a workshop in Miami next week.

The workshop, scheduled for April 13 from 9 to 11 a.m., replaces a February workshop originally scheduled in Globe but postponed due to construction along US 60. It will be held at Bullion Plaza Gym at 150 N. Plaza Drive in Miami.

PHOENIX – How do you get around, Arizona?

Spend a little time sharing what takes you from place to place and you’ll help inform how we all get around in the future.

The Arizona Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration are asking households, most of them outside of metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson, to participate in the National Household Travel Survey. Up to 30,000 Arizona households, chosen at random, will be contacted by letter over the next year.

PHOENIX – New ramps connecting Loop 303 and Grand Avenue (US 60) in Surprise will open to traffic this weekend, a key milestone for the project to improve the interchange that links the two roadways.

The northbound Loop 303 on- and off-ramps and southbound Loop 303 on-ramp at Grand Avenue are scheduled to open by 11:30 p.m. Friday (April 1), according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division is rolling out the state’s Voluntary Travel ID, a credential meeting federal REAL ID Act security requirements for access to airports, restricted federal buildings, military bases and more. It costs $25 and is good for up to eight years.

But there’s no reason to rush out and get one. Most people shouldn’t need the Voluntary Travel ID for another few years.

PHOENIX – A section of Bell Road near Grand Avenue (US 60) in Surprise will be closed for six to eight months starting Friday night (April 1) for faster construction of a bridge that will improve traffic flow and reduce congestion in the area, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

When it opens later this year, the new Bell Road overpass will allow drivers to travel over US 60 and the BNSF Railway tracks and connect with US 60 via new ramps.

TUCSON – Built in 1935 as a two-lane roadway through sparsely populated areas, State Route 86, also known as Ajo Way, has developed into a vital link in Tucson’s transportation system as development and traffic increase on the city’s southwest side.

To help the community keep up with residential and commercial growth, the Arizona Department of Transportation is planning major improvements to this east-west corridor connecting with Interstate 19.

PHOENIX – Overnight closures of Interstate 17 in north Phoenix are scheduled this week, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. Drivers are urged to allow extra travel time while the following late night closures are in place:

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has opened elevated ramps connecting State Route 51 at the Loop 101 Pima Freeway with Black Mountain Boulevard, improving access in the Desert Ridge area.

A roundabout serves as a transition to slow traffic to and from the freeway, and a pedestrian bridge has been added over Black Mountain Boulevard near Pinnacle High School.

PHOENIX – Drivers along Phoenix-area freeways can expect to see an additional reminder about the cost of being caught cheating in high occupancy vehicle lanes during weekday rush hours.

Over the next year, the Arizona Department of Transportation will add more than 250 signs that say “HOV Violation $400 Minimum” along Valley freeways with HOV lanes.

PHOENIX – Beginning next week, Arizonans will be able to provide input on the Arizona Department of Transportation’s annual update of projects proposed to move forward in the next five years and how much local, state and federal funding should go toward those projects.

SURPRISE ‒ Next weekend, Grand Avenue (US 60) will be closed from 9 p.m. March 18, to 7 p.m. March 20, between R.H. Johnson Boulevard/Sunrise Boulevard and Loop 303 to accommodate freeway bridge work, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Motorists should plan ahead and consider alternate routes while the closure is in effect.

The primary detour for Grand Avenue traffic will be along Loop 303 and Bell Road. Southbound Loop 303 drivers in the Peoria area can connect with Grand Avenue via southbound El Mirage Road and westbound Bell Road.

TUCSON – A bridge replacement project on westbound Interstate 10 between Tucson and Benson will require a 67-mile detour overnight from 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, to 5 a.m. Wednesday, March 23.

Westbound I-10 motorists, traveling toward Tucson, should expect up to two additional hours of travel time and consider avoiding the stretch if possible, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Eastbound I-10 will remain open. 

PHOENIX ‒ Four-hour closures of US 60 between Globe and Superior are planned for Tuesday, March 15, and Thursday, March 17, as crews complete passing-lane and shoulder-widening work, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

PHOENIX – With only a few exceptions, specialty license plates offered by the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Division do more than just allow drivers to show support for causes and express their individuality. They raise money – and a lot of it – for charities and nonprofit groups.

In 2015, the 389,536 specialty plates on Arizona vehicles raised more than $6.5 million.