News

PHOENIX ‒ Flagstaff residents and visitors will be able to spend more time enjoying the attractions of northern Arizona and less time getting there thanks to an upcoming Arizona Department of Transportation project designed to reduce congestion in the heart of that city 

PHOENIX – The Arizona Diamondbacks’ updated look doesn’t end with redesigned uniforms rolled out for this season. The organization has worked with the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division to overhaul the look of the specialty license plate raising money for team charities.

SURPRISE ‒ While columns that will support a $41.9 million overpass and interchange at Grand Avenue (US 60) and Bell Road are the most obvious signs of steady progress, a great deal of work is occurring at and below ground level.

On tap for the coming week as the Arizona Department of Transportation moves forward on the project: preparing to pave and form the curb and gutters to build the east side of Grand Avenue, adding electrical conduit and foundations for Grand Avenue lighting and installing a storm drain and sewer main on Bell Road east of 134th Drive.

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 Phoenix next week.

The workshop, scheduled for Thursday, May 12, from 1 to 3:30 p.m., will be held at the Maricopa Association of Governments, 302 N. First Ave. in Phoenix.

PHOENIX ‒ With about 2,000 truckloads of earth still to remove, blasting to create a passing lane along US 60 east of Superior is expected to continue through June.

The highway will be closed in both directions from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, a schedule the Arizona Department of Transportation designed to provide consistency for those relying on US 60.

LITTLEFIELD ‒ The Arizona Department of Transportation will begin the final phase of a pavement improvement project next week to upgrade a 13-mile segment of Interstate 15 from the Nevada state line to the Virgin River Gorge (mileposts 1-13) in northwest Arizona.

Crews will apply the top layer of asphalt to the pavement beginning Monday, May 9, and continuing through Thursday, May 26. No work will occur during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

PHOENIX ‒ For many years, Pinal Airpark was an isolated facility in the middle of the desert between Phoenix and Tucson best known for the many mothballed jetliners stored there.

It served as a base for large aircraft overhauls. No public flights took place, and no one was allowed in under a long-standing lease with one tenant.

PHOENIX – With strong winds in the forecast, especially for Friday, the Arizona Department of Transportation is taking steps to enhance safety on a stretch of Interstate 10 in southeastern Arizona that has seen significant blowing dust. That includes coordinating with the Arizona Department of Public Safety to close the highway when conditions warrant.

PHOENIX ‒ Bridge work requiring a four-hour closure of State Route 89 at Hell Canyon (milepost 346), 13 miles north of Chino Valley, has been postponed for a week due to inclement weather and will now begin at 9 p.m. Friday, May 13.

Pouring a concrete deck for the bridge is one of the final steps in readying a $14.4 million bridge scheduled to open to traffic in mid-June.

John Halikowski, director of the Arizona Department of Transportation, offered the following statement Wednesday on memorials placed along state highways:

"ADOT recognizes the need for loved ones to grieve for those killed in crashes and that some choose to do so through memorials placed along roadsides.

PHOENIX – Less than a year ago, it was uncertain how long Arizona driver licenses and identification cards would continue getting residents through airport security. When a state law that took effect in July 2015 allowed the Arizona Department of Transportation to create a credential complying with the federal REAL ID Act, Motor Vehicle Division employees had to move quickly to make it happen.

PHOENIX – Rigorous analysis that included extensive public involvement, an overwhelming need for the project and a lack of viable alternatives are among the reasons a federal judge should dismiss lawsuits challenging the South Mountain Freeway, the Arizona Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration contend in a legal filing.

ADOT and the Federal Highway Administration are scheduled to present oral arguments on May 11 in U.S. District Court in Phoenix as a judge considers motions for summary judgment in the case.

SURPRISE ‒ With columns rising on both sides of Grand Avenue (US 60) and Bell Road for a $41.9 million overpass and interchange, crews have started adding scaffolding known as falsework connecting columns to help workers get ready to add girders.

That’s one of the most visual changes at the project site in the past week. While continuing to install columns on both sides of Grand Avenue in the coming week, crews will grade the east side of Grand in preparation for paving and forming a curb and gutters.

PHOENIX ‒ Improving traffic flow and safety on Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson. Helping commerce move on a state route between the border and Interstate 19 in Nogales. Rehabilitating an 850-foot-long bridge along Interstate 15 in northwestern Arizona.

Aiming to move forward sooner on those goals, the Arizona Department of Transportation is seeking $109.5 million through two highly competitive federal grant programs.

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: