After approving the new Five-Year Transportation Program, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is expanding several highways in the state to make driving safer.
The first project to be completed is Interstate 10 which serves as a crucial connection for Tucson and much of the state. ADOT plans to expand the two road lanes between Phoenix and Casa Grande to three lanes.
“The I-10 expansion is about both today’s traffic demands and what we anticipate in the decades ahead,” ADOT Spokesperson Garin Groff said.
ADOT said the primary focus of the $571 program is to improve safety around highways.
“In that particular area we see a lot of, throughout the year, a fair number of crashes. Many of those involve commercial vehicles,” Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bart Graves said. “We’re hoping, along with our partners at ADOT that the eventual expansion of some of these highways will give drivers more room.”
The program will add and widen lanes on I-10, I-17, and State Route 260. ADOT also plans to preserve approximately 400 miles of highway pavement that are rated in fair or poor condition.
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Source: KOLD 13 News