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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Early returns favorable as massive I-10 rebuild ends
You sat in more stop-than-go traffic on Interstate-10 on the way home from work while you resisted the urge – or not – to hurl epithets. That's the way it was. The way it is now, as Arizona Department of Transportation mops up its nearly four-year rebuild of the Valley's busiest freeway, 11 miles from I-17 through the Broadway Curve to the Loop 202 interchange in Ahwatukee: Better. It's fresh, so it's going to take time to assess how much better. ADOT has finished the heavy lifting. The new traffic lanes, interchanges and bridges are done. What remains is landscaping, lane striping, signage, lighting and completion of ramps that lead to two new pedestrian/cyclists bridges over I-10, which ADOT hopes to complete by June 1. It is the largest rebuild of a freeway in ADOT history. 'We are just so happy that all of the major components of the project are done, the big stuff, and we are now just focusing really on the cosmetics part of the project,' said Marcy McMacken, ADOT spokeswoman. 'We are over the moon about it, with how well this project has gone. 'We've already gotten a lot of positive feedback, so we're glad to hear that the difference is very noticeable from four years ago.' Finally, relief For drivers, who for years endured not only weekday jams of traffic at rush hour on an outdated freeway but then also closures and restrictions on weekends during construction, the misery is over. When Interstate 10 was built through the Broadway Curve in the mid-1960s, the Valley had a population of about 800,000. Today, it is 5 million. ADOT estimates that 300,000 vehicles use the stretch of freeway every day. In the coming 15 years, ADOT estimates the number will rise to 375,000 a day. The average speed on eastbound I-10 from I-17 to U.S. 60 during afternoon rush hour before the rebuilding project was 32 mph, ADOT said. Without the project, that speed was projected to decrease to 29 mph by this summer and trend downward over time. With the I-10/Broadway Road Improvement project completed, average speed is projected to increase to 40 mph this summer. According to a Maricopa Association of Governments economic evaluation in 2020, improvements from the project will save motorists 2.5 million hours annually that otherwise would have been spent in traffic – totaling $130 million a year in time savings due to quicker commutes. There's good news for ADOT, too, according to McMacken. 'We are expected to be under budget,' she said. ADOT had paid out $646,637,489 through early May, according to McMacken. The figure will rise slightly when work is completed and contractors receive their final checks in June. What's new? With the addition of main traffic lanes, high-occupancy vehicle lanes and collector distributor roads for local traffic, capacity on I-10 has increased by 60 percent through the Broadway Curve. What taxpayers got for their money: I-10 widened to six general-purpose lanes and two high-occupancy vehicle lanes in each direction from U.S. 60/Superstition Freeway west to Interstate 17. I-10 widened to four general-purpose lanes in each direction from Ray Road north to U.S. 60. New, wider bridges over the freeway at Broadway Road and 48th Street. Wider bridge over the Salt River. Roadway improvement on approximately one mile in both directions of U.S. 60/Superstition Freeway from I-10 to Hardy Drive. Roadway improvement on approximately one mile in both directions of State Route 143/Hohokam Expressway from I-10 to the southern end of the SR 143 bridge over the Salt River. Addition of collector distributor roads next to I-10 from Baseline Road west to 40th Street to separate through-traffic on the freeway from local traffic entering or exiting at Broadway, SR 143 to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and 48th Street. Complete rebuild of I-10/SR 143 interchange with direct connections to and from SR 143 via flyover bridges to I-10. Two bridges for pedestrians and bicyclists over I-10 at Alameda Drive and the Western Canal, and improving the Sun Circle Trail crossing at Guadalupe Road. Sound and retaining walls where warranted. An LA twist The collector distributor roads are the most unique element of the project that get exiting and entering traffic off the main through lanes via what amounts to a parallel mini freeway for local traffic. There used to be a mad scramble where traffic off westbound I-10 heading for Broadway Road or SR 143 to the airport had to cross several lanes of traffic to the right in less than a mile while traffic entering I-10 west from U.S. 60 was crisscrossing as those drivers were moving left to get onto the I-10 through lanes. Collector distributors relieve most of the stress with dedicated lanes. Reducing the need for lane changes enhances safety, according to McMacken. There was a learning curve for motorists, though. 'The feedback on them has been amazing,' McMacken said. 'In the beginning, it was a new concept for many drivers, because we've never had that in the Phoenix area. Our educational campaign was launched over a year ago, letting the drivers know what these roads were and how to use them. 'Nobody around here had seen it unless they'd been to LA, or places like that. And I think it did take people a while to figure it out. The first couple of times through, even for me, and I've been to LA a lot, there was that learning curve because it was just so different. Now, they are being used as they should be, and it's made a difference.' The project was funded largely by revenue from a half-cent transportation sales tax, Proposition 400, that voters countywide approved in 2004. MAG, the regional transportation planner, identified the need to reduce travel times on I-10 during peak hours, improve airport access, support ridesharing and transit with more HOV lanes, and to prepare the region for future growth projections. 'At the beginning of the project, one of the requirements of the construction crew was that they do not conduct any full-freeway closures during the work week, during peak travel times,' McMacken said. 'They stuck to that. They did not conduct any freeway closures Monday through Friday. 'We are pleased that we were able to stick to that to minimize the impact on motorists. If we would have closed it during weekdays, the project would have been completed a while ago, but we knew that wasn't possible just because of where this project was located with its heavy volume of traffic.' What's ahead Crews will continue some landscaping work over the coming year, McMacken said. And then, ADOT's focus shifts south, to the 26-mile Wildhorse Pass Corridor along I-10 from Loop 202 to just north of Casa Grande, the final segment of the freeway that is only two lanes in each direction between Phoenix and Tucson. A separate project already is underway at the I-10 Gila River crossing, where bridges are being rebuilt and widened. The first of four phases of the Wildhorse Pass Corridor project is Loop 202 to Riggs Road. McMacken said ADOT expects to begin widening that stretch in late summer of 2026.
Axios
31-03-2025
- Automotive
- Axios
State Route 30 aims to relieve traffic congestion for booming West Valley
If you commute to and from the southwest Valley, the Phoenix area's next major freeway should make your drive a bit easier, though it'll be a while before it's a reality. The big picture: The West Valley is in the midst of a massive population boom and has some of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. State Route 30 will be the Valley's next new freeway. The Tres Rios Freeway, as SR 30 will also be known, will eventually run 29 miles south of Interstate 10, from the Durango Curve on Interstate 17 south of downtown Phoenix to State Route 85 in Buckeye. It aims to serve as a reliever for I-10. Why it matters: Rush-hour traffic on I-10 west of downtown Phoenix is often a bumper-to-bumper mess, which makes commuting a daunting prospect. That segment of I-10 is the most congested freeway in the region, critical for both commuters and commerce between the Valley and California, said John Bullen, assistant executive director for the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG). Zoom in: SR 30 will have three segments: East — Durango Curve to Loop 202 Center — Loop 202 to Loop 303 West — Loop 303 to State Route 85 State of play: The first segment of SR 30 to go under construction will be the center, which MAG views as the most important of the three. Bullen told Axios the first stretch to be built will run from the Durango Curve to around 97th Avenue. Construction on that portion is expected to begin around early 2027, and will take two to three years. The full center segment could take as long as a decade to complete. Reality check: The full SR 30 project is likely to last at least 20 years, possibly longer, Bullen said. There's no timeline for construction of the eastern and western segments and the Arizona Department of Transportation is still acquiring some of the needed rights-of-way. Meanwhile, construction on the extension of Loop 303 south of I-10 will begin this summer and is expected to take three years, Bullen said. SR 30 will eventually link up with the extended Loop 303. By the numbers: Much of the funding for SR 30 will come from Proposition 479, the transportation sales tax extension that Maricopa County voters approved last November. The 20-year half-cent sales tax will fund 331 miles of new freeways and highways, in addition to 1,000 miles of new or improved arterial lane miles. It will also pay for nearly 12 new miles of light rail and over 28 miles of new bus service. MAG expects the projects funded by Prop. 479 to reduce the average afternoon commute by one-third and reduce congestion by 51,000 hours on critical freight corridors daily. What they're saying: "With Prop. 479 passing last year, now we're starting to talk about that State Route 30 and that being the I-10 reliever. That is critically important, not just to Buckeye and Goodyear and Avondale and Tolleson and Phoenix, but for commerce coming in and out of metro Phoenix," Buckeye Mayor Eric Orsborn told Axios recently.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Point In Time homelessness count takes place in Maricopa County
The Brief The 2025 Point In Time count in Maricopa County aimed to assess the homeless population and its growth. Estimates show anywhere from 10,000 to 14,000 homeless individuals living on the streets of Maricopa County in 2024. Record-high eviction rates and inflation were noted as contributing factors to homelessness. PHOENIX - The 2025 annual Point In Time count took place in Maricopa County on Jan. 28. The count helps officials understand more about the homeless population, demographics and how fast it is growing. Results from the count will not be available until later this year but in 2024, the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) reported nearly 10,000 individuals were experiencing homelessness. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that number is closer to 14,000. Why you should care MAG's data shows that families facing homelessness have increased by nearly 15% over the last five years. Additionally, a report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development stated that homelessness in the country increased by 18% in 2024. Efforts were coordinated through MAG and other groups like A New Leaf where volunteers scoured the streets to find homeless residents to be included in the count. Big picture view The final effort will help understand the scope of homelessness and ways to provide support. Mental health and addiction issues continue to be main factors in those experiencing homelessness, but in Arizona, a high eviction rate coupled with inflation is leading to more families becoming unhoused. Even through a massive effort to clear the homeless encampment known as The Zone, permanent solutions to the homelessness crisis have been hard to come by. Local perspective The event started at 7:00 a.m. and carried on throughout different parts of the Valley throughout the day.
