Tag Archives: ADOT

Work on US 60 passing lane near Superior to continue through summer

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ADOT Photo

ADOT Photo

PHOENIX — Steep, rugged terrain and high winds have added challenges for crews working to create room for an additional lane on US 60 between Globe and Superior. Because of that, the project will continue through the summer, including twice-weekly closures for blasting work.

Crews have about 25,000 cubic yards of rocks and dirt – about 2,000 truckloads – to remove to complete the project between mileposts 227 east of Superior to milepost 235 west of Miami. In addition to creating a passing lane, the Arizona Department of Transportation project is widening the shoulders in Devil’s Canyon (mileposts 233-234), making improvements to the bridge at Waterfall Canyon (milepost 229) and improving drainage (milepost 242) west of Miami.

Drivers who rely on US 60 should continue to plan ahead for closures from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There will be no blasting-related closures in the area on June 30 or July 5 to accommodate holiday traffic.

After crews blast away rock in one area to make room for the climbing lane, they must maneuver heavy equipment up steep, narrow roads to prepare for the next blast. This spring, two periods of “red flag” conditions – high winds and low humidity that increase the danger of sparking a fire – have delayed work for about two weeks.

During the closures, drivers should consider taking state routes 77 and 177 between Superior and Globe, a route of about 68 miles. Motorists headed to the White Mountains region, including Show Low and Springerville, can take State Route 87 through Payson and travel east on State Route 260.

Meanwhile, US 60 will be restricted to one lane through the work zone from 9 p.m. Sunday, June 19, to 4 a.m. Monday, June 20, and also from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, June 20. A pilot car will lead vehicles the work zone, and motorists should budget extra travel time.

Drivers should use caution, watch for construction equipment and personnel, and allow extra time.

For more information on this project, please visit azdot.gov/us60oakflat.

Pavement resurfacing begins Monday on US 60 and US 180 in eastern Arizona

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Drivers traveling on US 60 and US 180 in eastern Arizona should expect delays for the next two weeks as Arizona Department of Transportation crews resurface the road.

Expect delays on US 60 between mileposts 385-388 in Springerville and US 180 between mileposts 427-429 in Alpine as crews resurface the roadway.

Work will begin Monday (June 20), and continue weekdays until June 30. Work is scheduled from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.

One lane will be closed for the work at each location. Flaggers will help traffic alternate to get by the work sites.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned roadway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule.

Improvements continue on I-40 east of Flagstaff

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FLAGSTAFF — The Arizona Department of Transportation continues with improvements on a section of Interstate 40 between Walnut Canyon and Twin Arrows roads (MP 204 to MP 218), approximately six miles east of Flagstaff beginning Monday (June 20) and continuing weekly Monday through Thursday during daylight hours until late August. Some Friday work may be needed.

Single lane closures can be anticipated within the project area to accommodate construction. Please observe reduced speed limits and allow for extra time for travel through the work zone.

A.R.S. 28-710 provides for increase fines for speeding through a highway construction zone.

ADEQ Announces Reduced Vehicle Emissions Test Fees for Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area Motorists

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PHOENIX — Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) officials announced yesterday motorists whose vehicles are registered in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, including Maricopa County and portions of Pinal and Yavapai Counties, known as “Area A,” will save $3.00 per vehicle for emissions testing fees, effective July 1, 2016.

ADEQ estimates that these fee reductions, representing approximately 1.2 million tests, will save vehicle owners about $3.7 million annually. All “Area A” vehicle emissions inspection fees will be reduced by $3.00.

“ADEQ continuously looks for ways to improve its vehicle emissions testing program,” said ADEQ Air Quality Division Director Timothy Franquist. “The State legislature’s passage of House Bill 2702 will reduce fees and more equitably cover ADEQ program costs.”

Beginning in 2014, ADEQ voluntarily lowered vehicle emissions inspection fees by more than 25 percent for more than one million tests in the Phoenix metropolitan area, which resulted in a savings to vehicle owners of about $8.2 million.

ADEQ supports a stepwise approach to reducing vehicle emissions testing fees as a prudent approach to balancing fees with service costs. The approach ensures program resource needs are met and minimizes reversing fee reductions at a later date.

ADEQ also instituted a Gas Cap Distribution Program in Maricopa and Pima counties, which provides vehicle owners with a new gas cap, free of charge, if their gas cap fails emissions inspection. This eliminates the need for the owner to leave, buy a new gas cap and return to retest, and immediately eliminates the release of gasoline vapors into the environment. If the testing station doesn’t have the gas cap size needed, motorists are offered a $5 prepaid card to help cover the cost of a new cap. Since its inception in 2014, ADEQ and its contractor have provided more than 91,000 gas caps and prepaid cards to Arizona motorists.

ADEQ is committed to better, faster, cheaper services by providing more service for less cost to customers applying Lean principles of continuous improvement and elimination of waste.

Please visit the following online resources for more information about ADEQ and vehicle emissions inspection and testing:

ADEQ

http://www.azdeq.gov/

ADEQ Vehicle Emissions Inspection

http://www.azdeq.gov/programs/air-quality-programs/vehicle-emissions-inspection-vei

myAZcar.com

http://www.myazcar.com/

Film production on Loop 303 to continue through early Saturday

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PHOENIX — Loop 303 will remain closed west of Interstate 17 through 3 a.m. Saturday as production of a motion picture continues.

The Arizona Department of Transportation is allowing Paramount Pictures additional time to film “Transformers 5: The Last Knight” between I-17 and Lake Pleasant Parkway in the north Valley. Traffic through this area is detouring east- and westbound on State Route 74.

While Loop 303 is closed between I-17 and Lake Pleasant Parkway:

• I-17 drivers can use westbound SR 74 to southbound Lake Pleasant Parkway to reach westbound/southbound Loop 303.
• Eastbound Loop 303 drivers can exit at Lake Pleasant Parkway and travel north to eastbound SR 74 to connect with I-17.

The production has had 300 people at locations in Arizona for nearly three weeks, boosting the economy through meals, lodging, fuel purchases and more. It has hired local companies for a variety of services, including equipment rental, transportation and construction.

ADOT regularly issues permits at no cost to film within highway right of way. The agency’s requirements for film permits safeguard taxpayer dollars and the taxpayers’ investment in state highways. This includes making sure there is no cost to the state.

Two road workers hit and killed this month on state highways

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worker-safety-sign_originalPHOENIX — In the past 10 days, two people working on state highways have been hit and killed by vehicles. These unnecessary and avoidable tragedies illustrate the need for drivers to pay attention in work zones and to give a safe margin of space to vehicles with flashing lights, such as tow trucks and emergency responders.

To remind drivers of the importance of paying attention to their surroundings, ADOT will display the following message this week on overhead signs statewide:

2 ROAD WORKERS
KILLED THIS MONTH
DRIVE ALERT

When traveling in work zones, drivers should expect the unexpected, as normal speed limits may be reduced and people may be working in the road. They also should slow down, keep a safe distance from the vehicle ahead and pay attention. Minimizing distractions could save a life.

Not only is it a safe practice to give space to emergency response vehicles, such as ambulances, fire trucks, tow trucks and highway maintenance vehicles, it’s also the law. Arizona’s “Move Over” law requires motorists to move over one lane – or slow down if it is not safe to change lanes – when driving by any vehicle with flashing lights pulled to the side of the roadway.

Early Monday morning, a passenger car struck and killed an employee of a contractor working on an ADOT project as he removed barricades from Loop 101 Pima Freeway in Scottsdale. Earlier this month, a box truck hit and killed a tow company driver responding to a stalled vehicle on Interstate 10 near Benson.

Surface treatment to begin on SR 64 south of Valle

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VALLE — Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) crews will be applying surface treatment on an 8-mile segment of State Route 64 just south of Valle (milepost 205 to 213) during daylight hours on Wednesday (June 15) through Friday (June 17). During construction the roadway will be reduced to one lane of traffic with a pilot car escort to allow for alternating travel through the work zone.

Delays to the Grand Canyon can be anticipated during construction. ADOT advises travelers to allow for extra time for travel in the area, and to watch for crews and equipment in the work zone.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned roadway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule.

Closure of bridge at I-40 Twin Arrows (Exit 219) on Tuesday

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Arizona Department of Transportation crews will be applying asphalt overlay on the bridge for the Twin Arrows Traffic Interchange (milepost 219) Tuesday (June 14) from midnight to 10 a.m.

Access across the bridge will be closed for traffic during construction; however a detour will be in place to allow for travel in the area and to Interstate 40. Please see information below for details:

Detour for I-40 Eastbound exiting north (Twin Arrows Casino)

  • Travel east on I-40 past the Twin Arrows exit to Buffalo Range exit (milepost 225), then continue westbound on I-40 to Twin Arrows exit (milepost 219).

Detour for traffic exiting Twin Arrows Casino to travel eastbound on I-40

  • Travel west on I-40 to Winona exit (milepost 211) and exit eastbound onto I-40 at this location

Please observe reduced speed limits and allow for extra travel time while traveling through the work zone.

Four states sign pact to create I-10 Corridor Coalition

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PHOENIX — In a move to make travel on Interstate 10 safer and more efficient, the transportation leaders in four states have created a coalition supporting innovation along the corridor.

An agreement establishing the voluntary I-10 Corridor Coalition, proposed by Arizona Department of Transportation Director John Halikowski, was signed June 2 by Halikowski and:

• Malcolm Dougherty, director of the California Department of Transportation
• Tom Church, cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Department of Transportation
• James Bass, executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation

“The efficient flow of commerce in Arizona drives our state’s economic vitality,” Halikowski said. “This agreement with our transportation partners in California, New Mexico and Texas will work to build a reliable, friction-free I-10 corridor to support Arizona’s businesses and export industries.

“We want to see the day when a truck or a non-commercial vehicle can travel the 1,700 miles between Los Angeles ports and Houston ports – safely, efficiently and without delay,” Halikowski added.

The I-10 Corridor Coalition is modeled after a coalition involving 15 states that govern Interstate 95 between Florida and Maine. For Arizona, the partnership is designed to remove what transportation officials refer to as “friction” – such as the variety of commercial vehicle permitting and inspection practices in each state along I-10 – that makes the movement of goods less efficient than it could be.

Commerce flowing on Interstate 10 across California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas is the engine of a powerful economic region. I-10 is the primary trucking route to and from the Port of Long Beach, which connects to Asian markets, and connects the trillion-dollar markets of Southern California and central Texas.

If the four states were combined, the region would have the 10th largest economy in the world.

“Someday we want the I-10 Corridor to be filled with truck platoons and connected vehicles, weigh-in-motion sensors and automated truck parking lots,” Halikowski said, outlining a vision for the safer, more efficient movement of commercial and non-commercial traffic.

The coalition will employ the transportation expertise of the states collectively to enable resource sharing, joint testing and economies of scale, Halikowski said. It will apply best practices to improve safety and efficiency along the corridor, improve freight movement, expand and coordinate the use of technology along the corridor, and promote cooperative planning.

The coalition also will engage other levels of government and private stakeholders throughout the corridor to achieve the goals of friction-free travel.

Safety improvement project on SR 169 will impact drivers next week

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The Arizona Department of Transportation continues work next week on a safety improvement project on State Route 169 which includes a new left-turn lane at Cherry Creek Road (milepost 9.3) and Orme Road (milepost 4.5).

As a result, drivers will be restricted to one lane at both intersections for chip seal and shoulder work as part of the project.

Starting on Monday (June 6) through Thursday (June 9), drivers will be guided through the work zone with a pilot car and flaggers between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Delays of up to 15 minutes are expected.

ADOT advises drivers to proceed through the work zone with caution, slow down, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel. The speed limit through the work zone will be 45 mph until the project is complete.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule. To stay up-to-date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information Center at www.az511.gov or call 5-1-1.