News

PHOENIX – In the not-so-distant past, someone retaking a road test at an Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division office had to stand in line – not to retake the test but to re-verify the application, a process that required spending several minutes at a window after taking a number and waiting to be called.

Today, that returning individual will retake the test first. Once he or she passes, a customer service representative will then process the rest of the application.

SURPRISE ‒ Things are coming together at Bell Road and Grand Avenue (US 60) as crews pour concrete platforms connecting columns for girders that will support a $41.9 million overpass and interchange.

Once rows of columns are completed on both sides of Grand Avenue, crews install wood forms for these concrete platforms, or caps. Later, girders will be placed on them to carry Bell Road over Grand Avenue and the BNSF Railway tracks.

PHOENIX – Now is the time to comment on the Arizona Department of Transportation’s recommended plan for the next five years of construction projects.

ADOT is getting ready to hold its third and final public hearing next week on the 2017-2021 Tentative Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program. Everyone is welcome to submit comments online as well through May 30.

PHOENIX ‒ State Route 67, the winding 40-mile highway from Jacob Lake to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, will reopen for the summer this Sunday, May 15.

The road, which connects with US 89A, has been closed since Dec. 1. The Arizona Department of Transportation doesn’t clear snow from SR 67 during the winter because visitor accommodations at the North Rim are closed.

PHOENIX – To make the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars and provide more consistent and reliable customer service, the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division is examining all aspects of its operations, including whether to consolidate certain offices, to better serve Arizonans.

PHOENIX – Don’t let a mortarboard be the last hat your young driver wears.

If historical trends hold, the square covers tossed in the air at commencement ceremonies could be the last caps worn by some recent graduates.

That’s because alcohol-related crashes involving drivers ages 16-24 spike in May, making it one of the most dangerous months for young drivers. Since 2010, during the month of May there have been 50 alcohol-related fatal crashes involving young drivers on Arizona roadways, according to data collected by the Arizona Department of Transportation.

PHOENIX – With trucks spraying water, first responders standing by to close Interstate 10 when conditions warrant, and air quality and agriculture representatives advising the land owner, state agencies are working to reduce the risk from dust blowing off recently plowed farmland in southeastern Arizona. 

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.