News

TUCSON – Final resurfacing of Interstate 10 as part of the 17-mile improvement project between Tucson and Benson is set to begin next week, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Drivers should allow extra travel time and use caution in the work zone while the pavement improvements are taking place over the next five weeks. Significant delays can be expected at times, especially during the peak morning and afternoon travel periods.

Initial I-10 restrictions are scheduled as follows:

SURPRISE ‒ A distinctive agave pattern is taking shape as columns rise for a $41.9 million overpass and interchange under construction at Bell Road and Grand Avenue (US 60).

Those viewing the Arizona Department of Transportation’s construction site over the next week will see work on columns occurring on both sides of Grand Avenue. After crews drill 66-foot-deep shafts, steel cages rise and are surrounded by molds. Then concrete is poured to finish columns bearing the agave pattern.

PHOENIX – Drive. Just drive.

That’s the message the Arizona Department of Transportation is sending to those behind the wheel during National Distracted Driving Month.

Distracted driving kills thousands and injures hundreds of thousands in the United States each year. In 2015, at least 36 people were killed on Arizona roadways because of distracted driving. Those numbers are too high. Bringing them down is simple.

Just drive.

SURPRISE ‒ Columns that will support a $41.9 million overpass and interchange at Bell Road and Grand Avenue (US 60) will begin rising on the east side of the project now that nine shafts have been drilled, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Work has proceeded steadily since Bell Road closed April 1 between 134th Drive and West Point Parkway, with crews clearing the project area, relocating utilities and more. Among the latest progress, forms have been assembled to create bridge panels with an agave pattern.

PHOENIX ‒ With the weekend forecast calling for gusty winds along with the possibility of snow in higher elevations, motorists should be on alert for adverse weather including blowing dust and limited visibility, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Even though monsoon season hasn’t started, blowing dust is possible throughout the year. ADOT’s safety tips for blowing dust, available at PullAsideStayAlive.org, include:

PHOENIX ‒ A project to reduce the potential for rockfall in a quarter-mile section of northbound Interstate 17 between Camp Verde and Flagstaff will require closures of up to 30 minutes overnight starting Sunday, April 17, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Drivers using this route between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. should plan ahead and budget extra time on the following dates, when intermittent closures will occur northbound near milepost 292 approaching McGuireville:

PHOENIX – Three routes to lakes in the White Mountains have reopened after winter closures, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

They are: State Route 261 between Eagar and Big Lake; State Route 273 between Sunrise Park and Big Lake; and State Route 473 between State Route 260 and Hawley Lake.

Before heading off to enjoy the mountains, motorists should do the following:

PHOENIX – ServiceArizona kiosks installed at courthouses in El Mirage and Paradise Valley are making it easier for Arizonans to conduct business with the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division without visiting an MVD office.

The kiosks, which offer the same functionality as the ServiceArizona.com website, allow customers to conduct more than 20 motor vehicle services such as accessing a driving record and renewing vehicle registrations. Most kiosks allow customers to print vehicle registrations and plate tabs for renewals.

PHOENIX ‒ With National Volunteer Week underway, how about helping save Arizona taxpayers millions of dollars a year and keeping our highways free of litter?

The 11,000 volunteers with the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Adopt a Highway program removed 67 tons of roadside litter last year. And there’s always room for more to join in.

TUCSON – A bridge replacement project on westbound Interstate 10 between Tucson and Benson will require a 67-mile detour overnight from 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, to 5 a.m. Thursday, April 21.

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 – 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.