The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) said several transportation infrastructure projects were completed in 2021, with significant progress made on other projects, in its “Year in Review” released Wednesday.
The department highlighted a dozen projects in three regions of the state – the Metro Phoenix Region, the Southern/Central Arizona Regions, and the Northern Arizona Region.
In the Metro Phoenix region, the ADOT said it has completed a $13.5 million project reconstructing the Interstate 17 Bridge over Central Avenue with a wider structure that will accommodate future plans for additional lanes along I-17. Additionally, crews completed work widening Loop 303 between Happy Valley and Lake Pleasant parkways, adding a new third lane in each direction at a cost of $20.3 million.
New lanes were opened on Loop 101 between Interstate 17 and Princess Drive as part of a $185 million project. The project will include reconstructed ramps and several widened bridges when completed in January. The ADOT also started work on its largest-ever urban freeway reconstruction project – the I-10 Broadway Curve Improvement Project. The $776 million project, when completed in late 2024, will add new lanes, construct new Collector-Distributor roads, build and widen bridges and improve ramp connections between I-10 and State Route 143.
In the Southern/Central Region, crews completed the $129 million I-10 Interchange Reconstruction project constructing new bridge structure over I-10 and adjacent railroad tracks. The $22.7 million US 60 Bridge over Pinto Creek was opened in September, replacing the 72-year-old bridge with a new one that features 8-foot-wide shoulders and can handle heavier loads. Work was also completed on the I-10 Interchange at Houghton Road, the first Diverging Diamond Interchange in Southern Arizona.
Two projects, the $34 million Oracle Road Improvement Project and the $134 million SR 189 Improvement Project, saw significant work. The Oracle Road project to resurface 10 miles of pavement while adding LED street lighting, signal, and sidewalk improvements, is more than half done despite being scheduled for completion in 2023. The SR 189 is scheduled for completion in 2022 and will include flyover ramps connecting SR 189 with I-19.
In Northern Arizona, the Historic Route 66 Bridge was replaced as part of a $4.9 million project. Other bridge replacement projects – Interstate 15 Bridge and Interstate 40 Bridges at Flagstaff and Ash Fork – saw work begin. The $56 million Interstate 15 Bridge work is scheduled to be completed in 2024, while the Interstate 40 Bridge replacements are expected to be completed in 2022.