PHOENIX – With a second
Interstate 10 widening project in Pinal County scheduled to begin in the next
week, drivers can look forward to having three lanes in each direction between
Casa Grande and Tucson within 18 months.
Arizona Department of
Transportation crews will begin work to widen 1-10 from just south of Earley
Road to Interstate 8 (mileposts 196-200) in Casa Grande. The $36.6 million
project is scheduled for completion by summer 2019.
The project is just west of
another at Eloy (mileposts 209-213), where ADOT crews are building new lanes,
adding a new traffic interchange at State Route 87 and creating a
first-of-its-kind dust detection zone. That project, which began in December,
is scheduled to be completed in fall 2019.
The Casa Grande widening project
will add one lane in each direction adjacent to the median, with a concrete
barrier separating directions of travel, and will create new bridges over
Jimmie Kerr Boulevard. The work also will include auxiliary lanes in both
directions between I-8 and Jimmie Kerr Boulevard, providing a safer alternative
to the existing ramps.
A joint venture of Ames and Combs
construction companies will perform the work.
Although crews will be working
near travel lanes, the project at Casa Grande isn’t expected to increase congestion
in the area. Lane restrictions are expected to take place at night, leaving two
lanes open to traffic in both directions during heavy travel times. The Eloy
widening project also is expected to cause minimal disruption for drivers
because the new I-10 lanes and SR 87 interchanges are being built east of the
current freeway alignment.
|